Devils in Hell
by CrystalFNfire
Summary: Laine is a Dorean Squire, and she's liked her life... until her world seems to turn upside down. Talon falls in love, Kyrian finds out that Valerius is in town, and worst of all, a supposed psychotic Dark-Hunter named Zarek is coming down from Alaska.
1. Chapter 1

For those of you that haven't been reading _Gone with Darkness, _this is the prequel to that story. It is about a woman named Laine and her adventures as a Dorean Squire. This fan fiction takes place during _Night Embrace. _  
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**Chapter 1 **

Laine was sitting testily in her Toyota Corolla, jiggling her leg, as she waited for Nick. The other Squire was sometimes more of a girl than she was when it came to his hair and clothes. His sleek, black Jag parked in front of her was beginning to seem like a pretty good target to take out her frustration.

"Come on, boy," she hissed under her breath and eyed the gas pedal. "I'm not your date, and I'm pretty sure none of the Hunters will appreciate your looks."

Just as she was about to jump out of her car and bang on his door, Nick stepped jauntily out of his new (and she might add, _expensive-looking_) house, pushing his hair back so that it looked slightly tossed and messy. As if he hadn't just spent the last thirty minutes gelling it.

He opened the car door and squeezed his six-foot-four frame into her passenger seat, making a face as he did. "Why the heck do you insist on driving this thing when I know you're getting paid enough to buy at least ten of them?" He reached down and pushed the seat back to a more comfortable position.

"Because, Nicky," she said sarcastically, "I like pissing you off."

The truth was, she had never liked showing off her new wealth. Never in her life had she had money, and she wasn't used to buying all the nice things she could now afford as a Squire, and so she decided she would save her new fortune. Who knows? Maybe someday, she would want to buy out Microsoft.

Nick whistled low as he pulled out the seatbelt. "Whoa, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

Laine started the car and both seatbelts buckled at the same time with no one having to touch them. Nick really was moving too slow for her taste today. The other Squire gave a little jump. "Quite the contrary. I was bright and chipper the whole day until I had to wait almost an hour in your driveway for you to dress and powder your nose. I hope you know that we're going to be late."

He glanced down at the digital clock on her dashboard. "Not if you let me drive." He smiled and cocked his eyebrow at her.

The girl almost laughed out loud. "No chance in hell. The last time you drove my car, she wound up in the shop for a week." His seatbelt jerked back nastily.

He choked for a few seconds before pulling down the belt, and sat back, unhappy to be in the passenger seat. "I hate it when you do that," he said grumpily. "And I was only pushing 100! It's not my fault your car is almost a decade old!" Nick was one of the few people who knew about Laine's telekinetic powers and still pressed his luck with her. She didn't know why she put up with the boy and hadn't killed him in one of her fits of anger.

He made a disgusted sound as Laine got on the freeway at a cool 65. "What?" she asked. "Someone out of the bunch of us Squires has to be a normal driver."

"That's not normal. You drive just like I thought you would."

"Excuse me?" She glared at him, her foot coming down harder on the accelerator.

"Just saying." Nick gave her a wicked grin. "You're Asian and a woman. I'd hate to see you drive when you're old too."

"See this," she said, and held up her middle finger as she ground her teeth together. Sometimes, Nick was too much, even for her, to handle. He only laughed, watching her bristle. Laine was ready to open the window and push his big, fat head out with her mind, but realized that answering to Acheron wasn't worth the trouble.

"One question, babe." Nick leaned in a little closer, the stupid grin still on his face. "How the hell are you going to fit another six-foot-something guy in this midget-sized car?"

On second thought, answering to Acheron seemed like a small price to pay for the relief she was going to get. She turned, gave Nick what she hoped was her best death glare, and, using her powers, she pushed him back into a more comfortable position. "First, you and me? We're not dating. That means you don't get to call me 'babe.' Second, this is not a midget car. It is a perfectly-sized car for normal-sized human beings. And finally, I don't care how Zarek will fit. He can sit on the roof for all I care. I'm just transportation. _You _get to entertain the guy."

Laine watched as Nick shuddered at the thought of serving the reputedly psychotic Dark-Hunter. She couldn't help but feel a little gleeful at his discomfort and silently thanked the heavens that she hadn't been assigned to Zarek's for his stay here in New Orleans.

Normally, Laine liked Nick, but today, having gotten the notice that she needed to get Zarek to the French Quarter for a meeting with Acheron, Talon, and Valerius, she was not a happy clam. More than anything, she knew, she would have to babysit and make sure the Hunters' testosterone-filled egos wouldn't get the best of them.

In actuality, she was on good terms with Talon and Acheron, or as good of terms as one could be with a Celt and the who-knows-how-old leader of the Dark-Hunters. It was Valerius she had a problem with. The first time she had met the guy, he had given her one of the haughtiest glances she'd ever seen, and then turned his head as if she didn't exist. Like some Dark-Hunters, he had taken one look at her Apollite heritage and connected her with the Daimons. That was Roman royalty for you.

Then, there was Zarek, who she knew nothing about, but had read from the Dark-Hunter message boards that he was a crazy bastard and unstable at best. It was why Ash had assigned him to Alaska, though she didn't know why, if he was so insane, he would be moved into New Orleans for Mardi Gras duty.

And of course, there was the little bit about how Valerius and Zarek hated each other's guts. Acheron must be getting senile in his old age if he thought that the two could work so closely together in the heated times of Mardi Gras. For some reason, around this time of year, the Daimons had a hey-day and more Dark-Hunters were needed to keep normal humans safe.

The Daimons were Apollites who decided to prolong their short lives by taking other peoples' souls into their own bodies. Apollites had been cursed by their creator, the Greek God Apollo, to only live for twenty-seven years before dying a horrible death because their ancestors had killed one of Apollo's young mistresses. It was incredibly unfair when Laine thought about it, and she tried to shut out these thoughts as she drove. She was only a quarter Apollite, and as far as she was concerned, she had barely inherited any of the telling-Apollite features, but she had never known her father because, as a half-Apollite, he had not been so lucky to escape the curse.

Because her ancestors had killed Apollo's mistress and made it to look like an animal had done the deed, Apollo also cursed them with animal features, such as long, sharp incisors, and the necessity to drink each others' blood to survive. Also, so that he would never have to look upon them again, he banished them all from daylight. Usually, full-blooded and half-blooded Apollites never ate, but survived on blood, and could never go out into the sun unless they wanted to be burned alive.

Laine's incisors were normal sized, and though she could never get a great tan, she had no other trouble when being out in the sun. The doctors had once told her she was slightly anemic, but it was nothing that a little iron supplement couldn't cure.

However, because Apollites were naturally stronger than normal human beings, when they turned Daimon, it was especially easy for them to hunt down humans and take their souls. This was why Artemis had created the Dark-Hunters. These were cursed, soulless men who hunted the Daimons so that the human race was safe. Because they hunted the Daimons, they were given some of the same features, such as fangs, inability to go out in sunlight, and supersensitive eyes.

So that they wouldn't have to keep them minds on anything except fighting the Daimons, the Dark-Hunters had Squires to look after everything in their lives, from getting food to finding possible sexual partners. And, of course, they got paid exorbitant amounts of money to do it.

"Look, there's the helicopter." Nick pointed out of her windshield.

It was already landed, and Laine could see a dark outline leaning on the side of the bird. "Ooh, Zarek's not going to be happy that you kept him waiting," she teased.

The other Squire undid his seatbelt as she pulled up next to the helicopter. "Yeah, let's not talk about that too much." Laine gave him one of his own annoying grins back as she cut the lights and the two of them descended into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2

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Laine got out of the car and began to walk toward the helicopter pad. Nick strode up behind her, and the figure leaning against the bird came toward them. "Mike!" She was more than glad to see the middle-aged Dorean Squire. When she had been initiated, it was he that had taught her everything she knew.

He pulled her into a bear hug. "How are you, Lainey?" He sounded much more relieved than happy to see her as he let her go, and nodded at Nick. "Hi, Nick."

The boy nodded and walked closer. "Where's Zarek?"

Laine thought she saw Mike openly shudder at the name. "He's still in the helicopter. I came out for a bit of fresh air."

The girl laughed. "Sorry we're late. Nick wanted to look his best for this one." She jerked her thumb over to the helicopter.

Nick rolled his eyes and stepped closer to Mike. "How bad is he?"

The other Squire gave him a look of sympathy. "Let me put it to you this way. If you have a gun, unload it."

Laine raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because if you don't, you're going to shoot this asshole which will only piss him off more. For once, I actually pity the Daimons." For some reason, the girl didn't like the sound of Mike's tone. Every Dark-Hunter had their flaws, and if she had heard all the bad things she now knew of the Dark-Hunters before she met some of them, she would never have some of the friends she had today.

"What?" she tried to lighten the mood. "He's worse than Acheron?"

"Lainey, take my word for it." Mike faced her seriously. "You ain't never seen anything like this one. I now know why Artemis and Ash locked him in Alaska. What I can't figure out is why on earth Artemis wanted him moved into a large population. In my opinion, it's like tossing a grenade on a gas station."

Nick whistled low, but she only rolled her eyes. "Whatever." Laine turned and walked toward the helicopter, which was on the private pad that Acheron used whenever he visited New Orleans. Even at a distance, she could see the large, black compartment in the back of the bird where the Dark-Hunters were supposed to stay when the sun was up.

As she approached the helicopter, she noticed that Zarek was nowhere in sight. Was he still in the compartment? He could be outside now that the sun was gone. Why would anyone want to stay in a compartment with no windows when they could be outside?

Shrugging it off, she climbed into the side of the helicopter and knocked on the door of the black box. "Hey, Zarek? I'm one of the Squires here to pick you up."

She waited for a full minute, but there was no answer.

She tried again. "Um… Zarek?"

Laine jumped back just in time as the door banged open and she caught her first sight of Zarek of Moesia. He was deadly looking. But then, so were most Dark-Hunters.

What made him seem a thousand times worse than even the most intimidating Dark-Hunters was the sneer on his face that would have scared the devil back into hell. The swagger as he stepped from the box showed all of his strength and fury. He was dressed in black boots with jeans and a black T-shirt, with a single silver sword earring in one ear. A black goatee decorated the lower half of his face and the contempt and hatred in his eyes made her gulp.

She was used to bad attitudes. Hell, you had to be when you worked with Dark-Hunters all day. But Zarek gave her the jitters, even more than Desiderius had when he had caught her alone in a dark alley after she finished off a Daimon. She had only survived that night to deliver a message to Kyrian.

Still, she had to give him a chance.

"Hi," she said, realizing the manic grin she got when she was nervous was plastered over her face. "I'm Laine. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand for a handshake.

He held up his. She didn't know how she had missed it before, but on each finger of his right hand was a long, highly stylized silver claw. Laine felt her grin get bigger.

"I guess you don't shake hands much, huh?" she babbled, wishing her heartbeat would slow down so that she could breathe and stop the scary thoughts that were going through her head. "Well, come on. My car's this way."

She headed down the side of the helicopter and almost crashed into Nick, who had come right behind her to make sure she was alright addressing the big, bad Dark-Hunter. Laine had to admit, however, for once, she was glad Nick was next to her. "This is Nick," she introduced, wishing her mouth would shut up, but this was how she always was when she got nervous. She turned into a grinning, babbling idiot, and that was why she made such a good actress onstage.

Zarek remained silent as he hauled his black duffel bag out of the helicopter, and they walked off the pad and toward her car. As they passed Mike, Zarek hissed, baring his fangs so that the Squire almost jumped a foot off the ground. The Dark-Hunter stopped and glared at him, as if taking in the effects of his handiwork.

Laine knew that Mike wasn't the type of the person to take that from anyone, but he didn't comment as he gave Laine's shoulder a squeeze and walked back toward the helicopter.

Nick, however, was not so smart.

"Well, if you're through taunting poor Mike, are you ready to go?"

Before Laine could do anything to mitigate those words, Zarek reared on the other Squire and glared at him so hard, Laine though Nick would die from the daggers that were coming out of Zarek's eyes. "You give me any lip, little boy, and there won't be enough left of you to run through a sieve."

Nick didn't normally scare easily, but this time, he shut up.

Laine would have smiled if Zarek hadn't sounded so serious. Instead, she only opened the trunk of her car so that he could put his duffel bag in. Wordlessly, he shut the trunk and stepped toward the passenger seat door. Laine glanced at Nick, who didn't complain, but pulled his mouth into a straight line, and gave up his seat willingly to the Dark-Hunter. Feeling sorry for her friend, she got into the driver's seat and pulled it up so that Nick could squeeze his long legs into the backseat. Suddenly, she felt it was a bad idea she hadn't bought a bigger car with the money she was making. Zarek was only an inch taller than Nick, but he was better built and his clawed hand was too close for comfort. Heck, had she known, she would have bought a Hummer just for this occasion.

Stop, she told herself. She was being just like everyone else: not giving Zarek a chance. Of course he had flaws, but, if she knew anything about Dark-Hunters, it was that they all had terrible pasts. Maybe Zarek had an even worse one so that he felt like he had to lash out before someone else could hurt him.

Or he could just be psycho.

_No_, the more reasonable side of her brain said. _Give him a chance_.

She took a deep breath, and started the car.

Zarek sat next to her, staring at the dashboard and drumming his claws on his leg. As she drove, the silence was deafening, and she began to wish she had asked Nick to drive. She wasn't used to going at anything but normal speed, but at this rate, she would die of awkwardness before they got to the French Quarter.

Without thinking, she turned on her CD player to alleviate the silence. _Into the Woods_ began to play softly in the background.

Almost immediately, it turned off.

She glanced at Zarek, who hadn't moved. He only gave her a sneer, and she realized that one of his powers was telekinesis. But if he thought he could get away with turning off her favorite musical, he had another coming.

With her mind, she turned the CD player on again.

He whipped his head around and it was off. "Don't play with me, little girl." He didn't even seem surprised that she also had telekinetic powers. The glare in his eyes was so cold, she thought she would freeze on the spot. Instead, her own pride was boiling over, and Zarek's attitude was doing nothing to appease it.

"You are sitting in _my_ car," she said evenly. "And we will listen to _my_ music unless I ask you."

He bared his teeth at her in the same way he had done to Mike, but for some reason, it didn't scare her as much. Zarek removed an MP3 player from his pocket and pushed the earbuds into his ear. Laine could hear rock music blaring from the headphones.

As soon as she did, her CD whipped out from the CD player so fast it flew past her head and crashed into her back window. She gasped and looked over at Zarek. He was again staring at the dashboard, listening to his music.

Looking into the rearview mirror, she saw Nick take the CD. He handed it back to her wordlessly.

She looked down and almost cried out. The CD had a long jagged scratch down the center and its sides were cracked beyond repair. Her heart wrenched, remembering who had given her the disk, and she blinked back tears, forgetting her anger and pride. Nick must have seen, as he reared up. "Who the hell do you think you are?" he screamed at Zarek. "Do you know how much that CD meant to her? Her mother gave it to her before she died!"

"Nick!" She shot him a look through the rearview mirror. Nick clenched his fist together and sat back, fuming. Laine appreciated his concern for her, but she didn't need Zarek, of all people, knowing about her past. She was only here to drive him and then, she never had to see him again. "It's only a CD." Reluctantly, she let it fall into the small compartment between the emergency break and the gear shift.

Zarek did nothing but listen to his music.

****

The three arrived at the French Quarter in the same silence that they had started off in. Nick looked more than a little peeved, and Zarek looked… well… like he was going to kill someone. Laine was sure that that was his every day expression. She took one last glance at her CD and tried not to hate the Dark-Hunter.

_He didn't know_.

Yeah, well messing up anyone's CD was a pretty mean thing to do. 

_Mean, but not evil_.

Laine shook her head. She really needed to stop having conversations with herself. Sooner or later, she was going to say something out loud and then people would definitely think she was crazy.

"This way," she said tonelessly, throwing a look back at Zarek. He didn't seem to notice, but at least he was following her. Laine looked over to Nick, and he immediately strode over to walk by her side. It wasn't as if he could protect her any better than she could protect herself, but it felt better to have a friend next to her. They made their way to the square, and it wasn't hard to find the other Hunters already there waiting for them. Laine, though she was tall for a woman, standing at five eight, suddenly felt incredibly tiny flanked by Nick and Zarek, who both stood well over six feet. As she neared Valerius, Talon, and Ash, she realized that she was at least six inches shorter than the shortest of them.

Arriving, she couldn't help but notice the aggravated expression on Ash's face, and she guessed that Valerius and Talon had already been at it. Val looked like someone had just shoved dog dung under his nose, and when he saw who she and Nick were bringing, he gave an ugly curse.

"Right back at you," Zarek snarled as he stood next to Ash.

"Not another friggin' Greek," Valerius said with the same disgust.

"What's the matter, Roman?" the Celt was smiling, though he still looked uneasy. Laine knew that he was also waiting for the two of them to go at it, and was ready to stop the fight. "Greeks bother you?"

"Trust me, had I been at Troy when they left the horse behind, there would have been roasted Greek on the beach that day."

"Damn, T-Rex, he really hates your ancestors," Talon laughed. Acheron flinched at the nickname.

"I was around before they were."

"Oh yeah, sorry."

Standing at six foot eight, Acheron was a whole foot taller than Laine, and she realized that to others, she must have looked like she was standing with a bunch of NBA dropouts. Her neck was already starting to hurt from having to look up all the time.

"Any problems with your flight?" Ash asked.

Zarek sneered. That seemed to be his favorite expression. "I didn't eat my pilot if that's what you mean. And little Nicky and Lainey are still breathing and not bleeding."

"Well, that's an improvement over last time," Acheron muttered under his breath.

Laine raised an eyebrow, hoping he was joking.

She looked around and realized that a few years ago, she wouldn't have been caught dead with some of these people. Talon and Nick looked like bikers, Ash a goth, and Zarek a killer. Valerius was the only person who looked something like an upstanding citizen. Had she met these people in the street when she was a few years younger, she would have headed the other way. Looking down at herself, she saw that she was dressed in jeans and a short pea coat; she looked exactly like the nice little college student she was supposed to be. And compared to these guys, with perhaps the exception of Nick, she really was.

"Why are we congregating?" Zarek asked harshly.

"Did anyone speak to you, _slave_?" the comment came from Valerius, but before Laine could even turn her head, Zarek had leaped at him. Ash barely caught him before he was at Valerius's throat, and still, Zarek struggled.

"Cease!" Ash's order was powerful. Only then did Zarek stop pushing forward. "I know it's been a long time since you were around another Dark-Hunter, Z, but remember, whatever you do to him, _you_ will feel it tenfold."

The other Dark-Hunter spat at Valerius, who haughtily stepped out of the way. "Pain I can take, it's him I can't"

The Roman curled his lip. "And I don't see why we need a whipping boy for the Daimons to play with. You know, he was so worthless in his lifetime that my father had to pay a slaver to take him off our hands."

Suddenly, Ash was thrown clear of Zarek, and in an instant, "Z" had Valerius on the ground.

Laine ground her teeth. "Stop it!" She used her mind to pull the two of them apart, and only with great difficulty did she finally get Zarek far enough away from the Roman so that he would stop punching him. Unfortunately, the Hunter had already gotten in a few good blows, and each of them were starting to show on Zarek's own face. His nose and lips were already bleeding.

"Boys, if you can't play nice, you can't play together," she said through clenched teeth. The men were starting to get on her nerves.

"You should be beaten for that," Valerius spat, wiping blood off of his own lip.

Laine had to work even harder to keep the two of them apart, and her head was starting to hurt from all the effort. Zarek glared at her. "If you don't get your fucking mind powers off of me, woman, I'll make your life a living hell." He turned back to the Roman. "Try beating me, you sorry piece of shit, and I'll force-feed you that black heart of yours."

The girl glared as she let Valerius go, but kept her hold on the other Dark-Hunter. "I'm not letting you go until you stop struggling and lay off of him."

"Fuck you."

The word stung, and Laine's own patience was gone. She saw even the other men bristle, and she let the Dark-Hunter go. To hell if he wanted to kill himself. Why should she care?

"You will not speak to her that way." Acheron's voice was filled with ice, and it was the first time that she saw his jaw harden at anyone. He was a man of infinite patience, and she had never heard that tone before. Even Zarek seemed to listen and looked away from her.

"Crap. There's a cop coming behind you, Laine," Talon warned. She saw Acheron give a peeved look to the heavens, and she realized that all of them had been so caught up with the tension between Zarek and Valerius that they hadn't noticed that humans had seen their fight.

"Can't you do your weird mind thing?" Nick asked Talon, glancing back at the cop.

The Celt shook his head. "He's too close. It won't work."

"Damn," Nick said, just as the cop stopped in front of them.

"Problem here, boys?" he asked. He gave her a strange look, and she knew what he was thinking. What was a nice-looking girl like her doing hanging around with guys like these?

Laine glanced at Valerius, who was standing next to her, and suddenly, and an idea came into her mind. She slipped her hand into the Roman's before he realized what was happening, and she gave the cop her biggest smile. "Nothing, officer," she said, chewing her lip. "There was just a little argument, between my boyfriend and this guy but we fixed it."

She added a giggle and winked, and almost disgusted herself.

The cop glanced at Zarek, who still looked like he wanted Valerius's blood. "He looks pretty beat up. Are you sure you're alright?"

"We'll be fine," she replied. She felt as if her smile would fall off, it was so fake. "Come on, Val." She pulled the Dark-Hunter along behind her as she pretended to leave the group, though in reality, she was only walking in front because she was afraid to turn around and see the look on Valerius's face. The Roman hated being touched by "plebians" like her, and she had accidently used the nickname she called him behind his back that he hated so much.

The cop gave them another look and seemed satisfied as he walked off. The others had also begun to scatter.

As soon as she realized the cop was gone, she let go of Valerius's hand and began to walk toward Acheron. Only then did she look up at the Roman general. "My name is Valerius," he snarled.

Laine blew out her breath. She was getting tired of being mistreated like this, but she was surprised that he didn't say anything about touching him with her filthy, plebian hands. "Whatever." She made it to Acheron without having to talk to Valerius again, and was glad that she still had Nick and Talon who could keep their heads in the party if she left.

"Nice seeing you Ash," she said, waving her hand at the oldest Dark-Hunter. "And Talon, Nick, Valerius. Nice meeting you, Zarek, but I'm out."

She turned to leave, but Ash stopped her. "Where do you think you're going?"

Laine turned her head. "I was the driver. You told me to get Nick and pick up Zarek and bring them to the square. I've done that, and I believe now I am free to go." She looked up at Ash, who was frowning. "Or… not. I can stay as well." She rejoined the small circle.

Acheron looked at her. "Plans have changed. But first, we need to divide up the city." He spoke quickly as he gave himself the cemeteries and doled out the rest of city to the other Dark-Hunters. "And Laine, you're going to be Zarek's personal Squire for his stay here."

Nick, who was standing next to her now, gave a silent, "Yes!" and pumped his fist into the air for getting off that duty.

At the same time, Zarek looked at her and hissed. "I don't need a Squire."

"And Nick," Acheron said, completely ignoring Zarek, glancing over at the Nick, who stood straight again. "You are on standby. In the event one of us goes down, I need you to mobilize quickly." He then glared at Zarek, who glared right back.

"I don't _need_ a Squire," he repeated.

Acheron set his jaw. "Then you don't have to call her. Officially, though, she's your Squire. Any other questions?"

Nick raised his hand. "One small problem."

"And that is?"

The Squire nodded at Valerius. "If he goes down, he's on his own."

Zarek gave a small smile. "I knew I liked this kid for a reason." Laine saw the disbelieving look Nick threw at him. "Can I have him for my Squire instead?" Nick's disbelieving look quickly turned to horror.

"No," Acheron said, rubbing his temples. "And Nick, your duty is to all of us. Valerius is a Dark-Hunter same as me, Talon, and Zarek."

"I know I swore my oath, but I swore it to protect Kyrian of Thrace and hell will freeze colder than Santa's iceberg before I ever lift an eyebrow to help the man who tortured and crucified him." Nick gave Valerius a vicious glare.

Valerius stiffened and looked away. "That was his grandfather, not him," Ash said.

"He was there, too, watching it happen, and he did nothing to stop it. I refuse to render aid to someone who could do that." He looked at Laine, who only threw up her hands. "Ash, psycho-ass, and Talon, I'll cover, but not him."

"Psycho-ass?" Zarek repeated. "Hmm, I like that."

"Nick—"

"It's alright," Valerius said. Laine caught something almost of regret in his eyes, but it was gone when she looked again. "I would rather die than have his plebian help anyway."

"Make that three votes, then," Zarek said. "I would rather he died too. Now all together, let's vote this asshole off this island."

Laine looked over at Ash who had an expression that told her he was about to tell her and Nick to get some big, black trash bags because he was going to rip Zarek and Valerius limb from limb. "Look," she said slowly. "I'll be Zarek's Squire, but since he won't be needing me anyway, I'll back up Valerius if he needs it. Both Zarek and Valerius turned on her with expressions of fury. "Oops. I forgot. They hate each other so much, they can't even share a Squire." She also began to rub her temples.

"I will not work with a slave as an equal nor will I share a servant with him," Valerius said. The sneer on his face could have matched Zarek's.

The other Dark-Hunter looked about ready to jump on him again. "Trust me, boy, we're not equal. You're so far beneath me that I would sooner sit in shit than let you wipe my ass."

Valerius leaped and Talon had to catch him.

Ash sighed. "Laine, you cover both Zarek and Valerius." It was his turn to get the death stares from the two Dark-Hunters, but he didn't even look phased. "You, at least, can separate them if they try to kill each other. And make sure Kyrian doesn't hear about Valerius's presence."

Laine rubbed her hands together. "This is going to be fun, isn't it?" she asked sarcastically. "Any other impossible things you'd like me to do, Oh Mighty One?"

"Just take Nick and Zarek back to their places."

"Yes, Oh Mighty One."

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	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3

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**

After dropping off Nick, Laine drove Zarek to his townhouse on Dauphin Street. She walked with him to the door, even though he didn't show any interest of getting her number or address so he could contact her.

"If you need anything, here's my card," Laine said, holding it out to the Dark-Hunter's back. He unlocked the door and stepped in. Looking back at her, he flashed his dangerous black eyes. She wanted to take a step back, but only found that the manic grin was back on her face.

He leaned in close. "I don't need anything." The door slammed behind him.

_Well, sheesh_.

Laine had half a mind to turn around and never see the Dark-Hunter again, but she reminded herself that she wouldn't act the child like Zarek and Valerius had done at the square. Sighing, she reached out to leave the card between the slits of the panes of glass on the door.

"I _said_ I don't need anything!"

Zarek's angry voice from inside startled her. How had he done that? Could he read minds as well? Now that was a scary thought. Maybe she'd try him. _I know you don't. But stop being a stupid ass and take the damn card so that if you do get hurt, you'll have some type of back up. _

She fit the card in the slot just as Zarek reopened the door with a snarl. "Don't test me little girl. And if I get hurt, I can take care of myself."

Laine ground her teeth together and bit her bottom lip. "Look, I _know_ you can. You're a big boy. But everyone can use a Plan B, ok? This is just in case." He continued to glare at her. "Please, can I just leave it in the door? You don't even have to look at it. It just gives me some peace of mind, alright?"

The door slammed in her face.

_I'm guessing that's a yes._

She left the card where it was, and turned and walked back to her car.

****

Zarek settled into the sofa in his new house and looked around him. He hated to say it, but the place was incredible. But then, everything was incredible compared to his hole in Alaska. Here, it wasn't freezing and harsh, and there were so many people in the city.

He had missed people. Even though most of them irritated them, he had longed for company in those long days in Alaska. Still, after tonight, he wasn't so sure he wanted to see any more. He had only been outside two hours when he had seen the two Daimons talking about Sunshine Runningwolf, and had taken them. He thought everything was fine until he wound up with four bullets in his back. He had taken them out and had changed his shirt, but now, he felt the urgent need to sleep. The sofa felt incredibly soft, and he took off his shirt before he gave a sigh and settled in it, closing his eyes…

…only to hear the doorbell ring.

Cursing, he got up, intending to hurt whoever dared to disturb him at a time like this.

He opened the door to see five paper bags, and looked up to see Laine's retreating figure as she walked back to her car. "Hey!" he called out, and she turned with a jerk. "What the hell is this?" The words came out much harsher than he intended, but he shrugged it off. He wasn't here to make friends anyway.

Laine began to walk back toward the house. "Food," she said as she walked up his driveway again. "There's a burger in there somewhere that I picked up so you don't have to cook tonight. And… uh…" She looked down at the bags on his front porch. "Sorry, if I went a little overboard. I'm used to grocery shopping for a lot of people."

He glared at the girl. He didn't understand why she would come back only to bring him something as insignificant as food. But as the smell of the burger drifted up to him, his stomach growled. He gestured at the bags. "Why?"

Laine shrugged. She was standing just below the steps of his porch now. "I don't know. I just realized that you were in the helicopter for a hell of a long time, and probably didn't get much to eat. It's almost dawn, so you can't exactly go grocery shopping, and knowing you, you'd probably eat the pizza delivery guy." She chewed her lower lip, and he suddenly figured out what was so strange about this girl.

While everyone else was afraid of him, except Acheron, who barely tolerated him, Laine treated him like a normal person. Heck, she was even being a little too nice to him considering he had told her to fuck off and had broken her mother's CD.

Thinking this, he felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He clenched a fist to fight it off. He didn't have emotions. He learned how to suppress them thousands of years ago, and he had never needed them. They only hurt him.

"What do you want?" he asked.

She cocked an eyebrow at him, and he had to admit, the girl was good-looking. "Er… nothing?"

Zarek glared at her. She had to want something. No one was nice just because of it. She had to have some ulterior motive. "Listen, little girl," he snarled. "I'm not going to be your friend, and I'm not going to do you any favors. Ever. Got that?"

Laine rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I get it. You're Mr. Badass. You live alone. You don't need anyone. You don't want anything to do with anyone." She looked down at the groceries, and then back at him with a more honest expression on her face.

Oh yeah, here it came. She was going to ask him to do something. Try to get close. And then she would hurt him and leave him hanging high and dry. If those were her thoughts, she had another thing coming. He tried to peek into her mind, but realized suddenly that he couldn't.

So this girl had mental powers as well, and she had built a powerful wall he couldn't breach unless he wanted to break her. "Look, Zarek. I don't want anything from you. I'm your Squire. I thought you'd be hungry, so I went and got you some food. I mean, you eat, right?"

He looked into her eyes again, and found she was unreadable. It sounded like she genuinely just wanted to get him some food. Do something nice.

But he knew better. No one was like that. Everyone was self-serving and it was best to let no one close to him. "Not if I can find a tasty neck somewhere," he said, leering at her. He was going to make himself so repulsive that she would never come back with another deed like this.

Just like he thought, her expression changed. "Do you really drink blood?"

"If I said I did, would you stop being my Squire?"

She closed her eyes and he could almost see her physically counting to ten in her head. "I'd tell you to lay off it, but unless you were actually harming a human, I wouldn't turn you in to Acheron."

"Are you stupid?" he asked, snarling.

"What?"

"Are you stupid? I just told you that I drank human blood. Aren't you scared, little girl?"

Laine began to rub her temples. "You know, maybe it's because I'm PMSing and seriously annoyed at so many people right now, but... honestly? No. You can't hurt me, and I can prevent you from hurting other people."

Suddenly, he pounced, and Laine gasped, but didn't move. He was lightening quick, and in a second, his silver claw was an inch from her face. She gulped.

"You really don't think I'll hurt you, huh?"

The steel in his voice made her want to run and hide, but she stood her ground. Somehow, Laine knew that if Zarek really wanted to hurt her, she'd be dead right now. Her telekinesis may have been stronger than his, but he was much stronger and faster physically. The fact that she was still standing in his front yard in the middle of the night, alive, said a lot about what he would and wouldn't do. And apparently, one of those "wouldn't"s was hurting an unarmed woman at night.

This one display of his moral character changed her outlook on him. Of course, he could just be biding his time, and in another minute, she'd be dead if she didn't run. Laine drew in a deep breath. "I'm trusting you not to."

He growled low in his throat, like some feral animal, but he lowered his silver claws. She drew a small sigh of relief. Laine didn't know what she had been thinking when she had gone bought the food for Zarek. She had just realized that Zarek must have spent the long hours of the plane ride in the box, by himself, with nothing but his MP3 player to entertain him. And he hadn't eaten anything all night, when he was with the others at the square. If she had been him, she would have been hungry. And so she went grocery shopping.

Zarek stared at the girl before him. She was a good nine inches shorter than he was and probably half his weight, but she displayed a courage that he had only seen in some of the best warriors. Either she was stupid or very, very naïve. In his world, they were usually the same thing. However, Laine didn't seem stupid to him.

What struck him most though, was that she said she trusted him not to kill her. She barely knew him, and yet, she was giving him enough benefit of the doubt to allow him the fact that he wasn't a murderer. And she was treating him as if he was worth something. It was more than anyone else had ever done for him.

"Um… I'm going to get going." Zarek blinked, and realized that he had been staring at the girl for a good minute or two, and she probably felt incredibly uncomfortable under his scrutiny. "I have class tomorrow. Well, actually, today." She looked up at the sky. "Bye."

He looked after her as she walked toward her car. But then, the smell of the burger wafted toward him, and his stomach growled again. His thoughts about Laine could come later. Right now, he was starving.

****

After classes and a five hour nap, Laine woke to her cell phone ringing. Groggy, she pulled it from her nightstand. "What?" she called into her phone, hoping she sounded as irritated as she felt.

"I thought you were supposed to be watching Zarek."

The voice was Talon's, and he sounded more than a little irritated. Laine straightened up and wiped the sleep from her eyes. "It's day time, Talon."

"I meant last night."

Laine paused. Hadn't Zarek stayed in last night? She'd only left him for two hours when she was sure he didn't want her around. But there was something in Talon's voice that told her he was incredibly angry. "I'm not his babysitter. What happened?"

"He was fighting off two Daimons and a police man shot him. Before that, I found him drinking the blood of some woman."

"Jesus Christ!" Laine's blood ran cold at Talon's words. She had always respected Talon's judgment, but she swore that she had seen another side to Zarek last night. "I only left him for two hours. Are you sure it was him?" He had meant it when he said that he drank human blood. And she thought he was only trying to scare her!

"I talked to his face," Talon said at the other end. "I know you have a soft spot for tortured minds, Laine. But I don't trust him. Keep a closer watch. And Acheron suspects him of murder."

The girl rubbed her forehead. "What? If Ash suspected any of us of murder, we wouldn't be here right now!" There was no sound on the other end of the line. "Look, I'm his Squire, not his jail keeper. But I'll see what I can do." She couldn't shake off the concern in Talon's voice. "If he wants to go crazy, I can't stop him, though."

"You better."

"Why haven't you called me about this until now?"

There was a pause. "I've been preoccupied."

"With what?"

"Since when do I answer to you, little girl?"

Laine made a noise of disapproval. She was getting tired of these big men with their big attitudes. And even more, she was getting tired of her new nickname.

The phone went dead.

Great. Now Talon would have her ass if she didn't keep "psycho-ass," as Nick called him, in check. And she was so sure she saw something else in him last night. For a second or two, she had known that he wasn't as bad as everyone made him out to be. Underneath everything, he had seemed to be a man haunted by his past who was unable to shield himself from it. His attitude she could excuse. But drinking blood …

_There has to be a reason for it_.

_Yeah. That he's a crazy bastard who likes to see people tortured. _

But the murder bit she didn't believe at all. Talon must have read too much into what Acheron was saying. She knew that if he actually suspected a Dark-Hunter of harming a human, that Dark-Hunter would be blown into itty-bitty D-H bites.

Laine shook her head and looked out her window. It would be sunset soon, and she would again have to tail Zarek's ass. This was perfect.

So much for the midterm she was planning to study for. She looked over at the monologue that she was also supposed to memorize and sighed. Well, it could always be done tomorrow at dawn. Not for the first time, Laine asked herself why she had decided to apply to be a Squire. Hadn't she been content with how weird her life was already?

Her father had been a half-Apollite, and died when she was only three, and after her mother died when she was ten, she had been given to the bears at Sanctuary to look after. Even as a little girl, she knew about the existence of Apollites, Dark-Hunters, Katagaria, and Arcadians. Still, until a few years ago, she had been content with living at the fringe of New Orlean's supernatural society. It was only when college came around that she consider working for the Dark-Hunters.

Mama and Papa Peltier had not been happy about that.

It wasn't that they couldn't have paid for her tuition. She just felt that she had to do something on her own, and it was now or never that she did it.

But this wasn't the time to reflect on her past decisions. Stuffing her monologue into her pocket, she grabbed her keys and her purse and headed out to her car.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to everyone that has read and reviewed! Your input is much appreciated.**

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Chapter 4

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She arrived at Zarek's house at sundown only to find a more than irate-looking Acheron stalking out of the house. "Great," she said under her breath. "I'm guessing you've already chewed his ass out about getting in with the authorities."

"Talon told you?" He raked his gaze over the girl, who stood a whole foot shorter than him. For some reason, he felt better that she was here and seemingly ready to handle Zarek.

"Yeah. And now he wants me to babysit." She didn't look too happy about that. "The question is, do _you_ want me to babysit? Or can I memorize my monologue and actually study for my midterm this time?"

Ash paused. "Stay here. Zarek is under house arrest, and he's not too happy with it. I need you to make sure he stays."

Laine cocked an eyebrow at him. "_Me_ make _him_ stay?"

The oldest Dark-Hunter gave her a peeved expression, and she knew that he probably had a lot more on his mind than she would ever have on hers. "Alright, Ash." She sighed and bit her lower lip. "But, as I told Talon, if he wants to go crazy, I can't stop him."

"You better, little girl."

Laine rolled her eyes heavenward. "That's what he said too." With that, she squared her shoulders and marched toward the door. She rang the doorbell, not expecting anyone to answer, and she saw that her card was still stuck between the window and its frame on the door. For some reason, she felt a tinge of sadness.

_Are you really surprised that he didn't take your card?_

She wasn't. But secretly, she had wished he had.

"What?" The door opened, but Zarek was nowhere to be seen. Holding her breath and praying that she wouldn't be killed if she walked in, she stepped through the door and closed it behind her. It was just as cold in the house as it was outside, and she realized Zarek hadn't bothered to turn up the heat. This was probably mild weather compared to Alaska, anyway. The house was completely black, and Laine couldn't see a thing. And that was saying something, considering her Apollite blood.

There was a snort somewhere in front of her, toward the right. "Really? Are you the one they sent in to make sure that I stay here?"

"Yup. So I'm here for the night, whether we both like it or not." She raised her hands in front of her face and wiggled her fingers, but she found she couldn't see them. The windows were boarded shut and Zarek hadn't turned on the light because they would hurt his Dark-Hunter eyes. _Great, I'm blinder than a bat._

"Get the hell out of my house."

The hatred in his voice was undeniable, and she wanted to turn around and run for Acheron.

"I can't, Zarek. This is my job, and the only way you're leaving is over my dead body." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she gulped and wished she hadn't said them. Laine couldn't see anything, and she knew that Zarek still had those damn claws on his hand. If he really wanted her dead, she would be on the ground, without a heartbeat in a second. She tried to remind herself that she had thought the same thing last night and survived.

The Dark-Hunter gave a low, evil laugh, and the hair on the back of her neck began to rise. She swallowed hard and tried to remind herself that she also had powers. However, she always found that when she wasn't focused, they were incredibly hard to summon.

"Don't push me, little girl."

She took a few steps forward slowly, knowing that Zarek could see her but she couldn't see him. _That was a wonderful feeling._ At this rate, he could slip out the door behind her, and she wouldn't know until she heard the door slam.

Zarek watched as the girl held up her hands and realized that with her human eyes, she couldn't see a thing in the dark. Good. He didn't want her watching him anyway. He hated it when people looked at him. Their eyes were either full of fear, anger, or pity. And he didn't need any of those things right now.

Laine took a few tentative steps forward, and suddenly, he realized she was going to trip over his duffel bag full of weapons that he had left in front of the television. She would spill the weapons and then fall… possibly getting hurt on his swords and knives. It was too late to call out a warning. Without thinking, he leaped up and pushed her out of the way, slamming her body into the wall behind her. Unfortunately, his momentum made him crash into her just as she did so.

Her head made a sickening smack on the wall, and Zarek ground his teeth. He hadn't meant to hurt her.

"What the heck?" she cried, and tried to push him away. He finally realized what she was trying to do when he felt both her palms against his chest. Though her mind was strong, she still couldn't match him physically. Suddenly, the only light in the living room came on. It was too weak to hurt Zarek's eyes, but he guessed it allowed her to see in the room.

"What the heck?" Laine repeated, staring up at Zarek, whose chest was only an inch away from her nose. The back of her head stung, and she was still trying to recover from being slammed into a wall by a man the size of most football players.

Zarek only snarled at her. "You want to stay? Fine. It's your hell." He stalked away, slamming the door as he walked into his room. Laine couldn't understand what was going on. Hadn't _he_ just smashed her into the wall? Why was he angry? She had thought he was trying to attack her and …

She tried to wipe the other thought out of her head, but the words came anyway. …_kill her_.

Laine scanned the room, and her eyes fell on the duffel bag, which was exactly where she had been about a second ago, before Zarek pushed her into the wall. The glint of steel caught her eye, and she bent down to look into the bag.

She gasped as reality dawned on her. He hadn't meant to hurt her, and he certainly hadn't been attacking her. Zarek had been able to see in the dark, and knew that she was about to trip on a bag full of weapons. Had he done nothing, she would probably have tripped, fallen on a sword, and been killed. Sighing, she made her way toward the direction of Zarek's door.

****

As he slammed the door behind him, he cursed under his breath. Why did he even bother? Every time he tried to do something nice, it came back to bite him in the ass. No one trusted him, and he kept making the same mistake. Zarek snarled as he took off his claws, knowing that he wouldn't need them tonight.

In fact, he was sure Acheron wouldn't let him out for the rest of his stay here. Of course, he didn't intend to follow orders exactly; it was something he wasn't too good at doing anymore. He could easily get past Laine, but it would involve her getting hurt, and he hadn't descended so low as to hurt an unprotected woman.

His thoughts turned to the one moment when she had been pressed into his body. She had been soft, and her hair and body smelled of peaches and cream. The heat from her body had warmed him for just that second and given him a false sense of security and belonging. Something he had always longed for…

No.

He didn't need anything. He didn't want anything, except to end this miserable existence.

A knock came on his door.

Even from his bed, he could feel Laine's presence on the other side of it. Ever since she put up the shield around her mind, he couldn't tell what she was thinking, and for some reason, it was comforting to not always have someone's random thoughts enter his head.

"Zarek?" Her voice wasn't angry anymore, but he knew it could change any second. But it didn't. "I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier. And thanks for pushing me out of the way." He sat up, startled that she had actually figured out his intentions. Usually, people took one look at him and thought the worst. "I haven't eaten dinner, so do you mind if I fix myself some food?"

Zarek stared at the door in disbelief. Who was this woman? And why did she insist on treating him like he was just another human being? No one, in his entire existence, had ever apologized to him. He wasn't sure how to respond, as his heart wrenched.

_Stop it!_ He couldn't understand why he was feeling this. Why did he care? She was his Squire and had to serve him. Heck, Lord knows she was getting paid enough to do it. But she could have been like Nick: silent and pouting in his presence. Instead, she was making an effort to talk to him.

"Well, I'm taking that as a yes."

It was only when she spoke did he realize how long he had been quiet for. Before he could say anything, he heard her retreating footsteps.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5

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Laine looked into the refrigerator and tried to remind herself why she had let herself buy so much toxic waste.

_Oh yeah, because for some reason, men are able to function while eating this stuff_. Her brothers were huge meat eaters and had sniffed at her when she mentioned salads and soy. She had served enough Dark-Hunters to know that they were also not fans of her choice of food.

It wasn't as if she was a strict vegetarian. Being in musical theater, she needed a lot of protein to give her the energy to remain on stage for hours at a time, but she also knew the benefits of organic foods and other healthy decisions. These men, however, didn't, and it annoyed her to no end that people like her brothers could wolf down plate after plate of grease and not gain a single pound.

However, Laine was happy to see the bag of the fast food she had bought yesterday in the trashcan. At least Zarek hadn't spurned her food and accepted her help. In truth, she really had bought too much: she had been able to stock his entire fridge. Having grown up with eleven brothers, though, she knew how much men, especially those of Zarek's size, could eat at one sitting.

Biting her lip, she removed the lettuce, carrots, and cabbage, all of which, she noticed, were stuffed at the back of the fridge, out of sight. Zarek, apparently, wasn't a big vegetable eater. Then she removed the filet mignon steaks that she had bought in case Zarek turned out to be a strict carnivore. He was probably hungry too.

She turned the oven on, opened the packets of vegetables, and turned on her MP3 player so that the house didn't seem so damn quiet.

****

Zarek was hungry. He had only eaten once yesterday, and now that he was awake, his stomach was growling. But he could ignore the hunger.

It was nothing compared to what he experienced as a human; he remembered staying outside for days, usually given nothing so that he had to scramble to steal just to keep his existence. He had even eaten dirt to try and appease the pangs from his stomach.

The steak Laine was cooking in the kitchen smelled delicious. Well, who cared if she had a feast without him? He had never learned to cook well, but he could make his own food.

Thinking this, he leaped from his bed and opened his door, heading for the kitchen, but stopped when he heard the soft humming coming from that direction.

Laine was singing a soft and sad tune that tugged at his heart. How many times had he dreamed of waking up to a wife, someone who loved him for who he was and did this exact thing?

_No one can love you_. _Love doesn't even exist. You really are pathetic for going soft just because a woman is humming in your house. _

Clenching his fist, he strode into the kitchen, where Laine was listening to her MP3 player and tossing a salad. The smell of steak was even better now. His mouth was literally watering.

As he walked by, Laine jumped, ripping the headphones out of ears, and went into a battle stance next to the sink. Then, seeing it was him, she relaxed and let out a deep breath. "You need to stop doing that. I almost had a heart attack."

He ignored her and went for the fridge, pulling out bread, ham, and some cheese.

"Um… do you not like steak?" He continued to ignore her as he pulled out a piece of bread from the bag and laid it on his hand. Just because she was in his house and playing the little maid didn't mean he had to talk to her. "Hey, Mister! I'm talking to you!"

Zarek turned away from the bread and glared. What the hell did she want?

Laine took a step back at the death stare he was giving her, but then reminded herself that she had accidentally lost her temper. "Look, I made enough food for both of us. But I mean, if you really like ham and cheese sandwiches, just keep ignoring me."

The Dark-Hunter dropped the bread onto the kitchen counter and reared on her. "What? You don't think I can fend for myself? I don't need you to baby me!"

Her jaw fell open.

Then, she remembered the steaks and opened the oven, pulling one out with the oven mitt. Still, even as she set the sizzling steak on the counter, she felt anger boiling inside her. Why couldn't the man just accept a nice gesture? "I know you can fend for yourself. I just didn't think it'd be polite if I only made myself food when you were probably hungry too."

Zarek snarled at her.

"That's your favorite expression, isn't it?"

He said nothing, but grabbed the plate of steak to pull it toward himself.

"Careful, it's hot!" Laine gasped.

Zarek didn't even flinch as he pulled the plate toward himself and grabbed a fork from one of the drawers.

"What are you doing?"

Without thinking, she took the hand that had touched the plate, shoved it under the faucet, and turned on the cold water. Even under the stream of water, she could see his skin starting to blister where he had met the plate. He hadn't just touched it. He had grabbed it full on.

Zarek hissed, but it wasn't from the cold water easing the stinging in his hand. As Laine held his hand under the faucet, he became painfully aware of her closeness. Her full, tight bottom was pressed against his groin, and her back was forced to lean into his chest. Again, the scent of peaches and cream filled his head, and he felt his desire rising.

Laine gasped as she felt Zarek's erection on her lower back, and she quickly stepped away from the Dark-Hunter as she turned off the water. "I'll get you a bandage."

In a flash, she was gone from the kitchen.

Zarek felt her absence with a pang in his chest. He clenched his fork hard in his other hand and viciously stabbed the piece of steak. Taking a large bite, he cursed himself for thinking that Laine would have responded how he wanted her to. As soon as she had felt his desire, she had stepped away, afraid, disgusted.

No one wanted him.

Well, if the woman continued to cook this good, she could stay and be his Squire. He hadn't had sex in over three months, and he could hold off longer if need be.

He chewed the steak carefully, and found she was an even better cook than he at first thought. And she seemed to know exactly how he like his steaks cooked. Extremely rare. So much so that it was still bloody. He smiled to himself. Other men would be counting their lucky stars to have such a beautiful woman who cooked so well to serve them.

"Here." The girl was back in the room, a wary look on her face, as she handed him the bandages she had found in his bathroom. She turned away from him as she bent over the oven with an oven mitt to take out the baked fish she had made for herself. Before going to the dining room, she glanced over at the Dark-Hunter.

He had just taken a large bite of the steak and was chewing furiously as he stared at the cupboard in front him. A sudden wave of sadness hit the girl. No one had ever even bothered to teach him table manners. He barely knew how to hold a fork correctly.

Compassion filled her heart, and she decided to stay in the kitchen as she ate her own meal.

They ate in silence, partly because Zarek hated talking and partly because Laine didn't know how to address the Dark-Hunter. She couldn't tell if she was seriously annoying him by staying so near him as he ate.

It was only when she looked up at him again that she caught him trying to mirror her actions of cutting her food into a small, bite-sized piece before she ate it.

He met her gaze and sneered before stabbing his steak again with his fork and bringing it up to his mouth to take a large bite. Laine immediately looked down at her fish.

****

What did he care what people thought of him? Why was he trying to be civilized anyway? But when Laine had stared at him with… what was it, pity? When she had looked at him that way, he immediately felt embarrassed that he hadn't been eating his steak correctly. But really, who was she to judge him on that? Angrily, he took another large bite of his steak just to spite her.

****

Laine wasn't sure how to respond to Zarek's bitterness. If she didn't say anything, they would only lapse into their uncomfortable silence again. "You don't have to be embarrassed."

"Who says I'm embarrassed?" Zarek's black eyes gleamed with hate and indignation.

The girl gulped. "You seemed that way. I just—" She stopped talking as he scraped the remains of his steak into the trashcan and ran the plate under the sink. He didn't seem interested in what she was saying, and after he washed and dried the plate, he stalked out of the kitchen.

Laine heard him slam the door to his room, and ground her teeth in frustration. At least she was sure that if he stayed in his room, with his boarded up windows, he wasn't going anywhere. Sighing, she knew that she wasn't doing herself any favors by trying to befriend Zarek.

She didn't know why, but in his eyes, she saw so much pain that she knew that it wasn't that Zarek didn't want friends; he had just been hurt too much to trust again.

Taking the rest of her dinner, Laine went into the living room and put her plate down on the coffee table. Next to the TV, she spotted Zarek's collection of DVDs. Curious as to what movies this seemingly loner Dark-Hunter liked to watch, she stepped on over, and was surprised to find _The Princess Bride _among a slew of action films and even a few comedies.

Not a single slasher film.

But then again, Zarek probably saw enough of that kind of action every day.

Hoping the Dark-Hunter wouldn't mind, Laine popped in _The Princess Bride_ and turned on the TV.

****

Zarek wasn't sure what to do. Stepping out from his room, he had seen Laine on the couch, fast asleep, the movie _The Princess Bride _playing quietly in the background. He didn't know why he owned such a cheesy movie. Something that focused on true love and whatnot. Love didn't exist, but at least in the fantasy world of movies, it seemed to.

This was one of his favorite movies.

Laine was breathing slowly and deeply, her head against the armrest of the sofa and her long legs curled up beneath her. Her neck was exposed invitingly, and Zarek couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to drink from her. Feel her love for life. For, at least a few seconds, forget this miserable existence.

But he had seen how she had reacted when he had told her he drank blood. It was the only time he had seen her express her disgust.

And for some reason, he didn't want to inculcate her anger. Her hate.

Slowly, he stepped toward the TV and turned it off. Then, with a last glance at the girl, he headed out the door.

****

Laine woke to her cell phone ringing. Eyeing the clock on the outer display, she saw that it was a little after nine. Plenty of time for her to get to class, she thought, as she hit the answer button.

"Hello?"

"Hey, hon. How are you?" It was Selena, the oldest sister of her best friend, Tabitha.

"I'm doing good." As good as one could be doing after staying the night at a supposedly psychotic Dark-Hunter's house. And for God's sake, she had fallen asleep. If Zarek had decided to venture out sometime between the time she fell asleep and woke up, Talon would kill her. Why he was so keyed up with Zarek, she wasn't too sure. "How about you, Sellie?"

"I'm good too, but Sunshine's not," Selena's worried voice came through the receiver.

Sunshine was one of Selena's best friends who sold her art next to Selena's fortune-telling stand. She and Laine shared an artists' bond, and it wasn't just the fact that they felt the need to support each other. Sunshine really was quite good, and Laine hadn't hesitated to buy a few pieces from her to decorate her dorm room with. At the same time, she couldn't recall a single performance she'd done in college that Sunshine hadn't been at.

"I haven't been able to contact her at all. Since you seem to be the only other person she told about this mysterious new guy, I thought you might have some answers. Have you seen her?"

Laine's heart skipped a beat and she scanned her thoughts. She hadn't seen Sunshine at the square yesterday, but that was because the Dark-Hunters had to meet after dark. Other than that, Laine hadn't been to the center of the square for at least a week. She had spoken to Sunshine just a few days ago, however, and she had spoken of a new man that she was seeing.

Another biker guy, of course, and Laine silently cursed that her friend was drawn to such bad boy types. "I haven't heard from her, but I'll try calling her house. And if she doesn't pick up, I'll swing by later."

Selena blew out a small breath of air. "Alright. I'd do that if I didn't have to work all day. Call me if you hear anything from her. If that new guy that she picked off the street hurts her, I swear I'll put a penis-shrinking spell on him and feed him to the gators."

Laine gave a nervous laugh. As far as she was concerned, Selena was a powerful sorceress, and she wasn't sure if she was kidding or not. But Sunshine really needed to stop helping every other man she found hurt on the street. One of these days… "I'll see you later."

"Bye, hon."

Laine hung up and looked around the dark room. Undoubtedly, Zarek was sleeping now, but had he gone out in the night? Well, she wouldn't mention anything unless Talon did. Baby-sitting a six-foot-five man was harder than it sounded.

Checking to see if she had everything, she headed out the door to her car. Upon lighting the ignition, her CD player came on. She gasped at the music.

"Once upon a time…"

Quickly, she ejected the disk and turned it over. Not a single scratch. She looked down at the compartment between the gearshift and the emergency break. The broken CD was nowhere to be found. In its place was the jewel case of the original Broadway soundtrack of _Into the Woods_. The exact copy that her mother had given her.

It couldn't be…

Turning to look at the house, Laine smiled to herself. Talon really was wrong about this man.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6

* * *

**

Getting to her dorm room, Laine quickly memorized her monologue at her desk before scrolling through her contact list to find Sunshine's number. She was quite curious who this new stranger was, and had heard that he was supposedly some hunk. But as soon as she tried to dial, she found she had another call coming in. It was Ash.

Uh oh.

She picked up.

"I thought I told you to watch Zarek."

Oh no. So the guy had gotten out when she had fallen asleep. "I _was _watching Zarek."

"Then why the hell was he at the New Orleans Music Store, scaring the clerk and half the customers at three o'clock in the morning?" Though she knew Ash was a patient man, Laine could tell his voice was rising with his temper.

"Um… I might have fallen asleep around then on his couch."

There was a pause. "I'm sorry. I don't think I heard you correctly. Because if I heard what I thought you said, you have a lot of explaining to do." Ash's voice was dangerously close to a warning tone, and Ash usually didn't sound so testy.

"Look," she said with a sigh. "I know Zarek's being looked after by the police, but he's not who everyone thinks he is. He was in the music store because he accidentally ruined a CD my mother gave me, and was probably buying me a new one."

There was another pause. "He's still under house arrest. You're off Squire duty for him."

Laine sighed. "Alright. I'm sorry."

Ash was silent for a moment.

Then, "Meet me at the Corner Café in the Pedestrian Mall at four. Nick will be there."

The girl looked down at the planner on her desk and ground her teeth. She had been planning to do more studying for her other midterms, but what were midterms when there were Dark-Hunters to serve? "Can I ask why?"

The phone went dead.

Laine balled her hands to a fist and checked the time on her phone. Sighing, she realized that she had to get to class. She would have to call Sunshine later.

* * * *

At three-thirty, Laine headed out toward the Corner Café, and because of the traffic on the I-10, she got there a little after four. Upon entering, she saw that Acheron and Nick were already seated at the bar, both with a beer before them. Laine wondered if Ash, who didn't look a day over twenty-one, got carded.

"Hey," she greeted the two, and took the seat next to Nick, away from Acheron. For all she knew, he was probably still pissed off at her for her incident with Zarek. However, the Dark-Hunter just nodded, and Nick gave her one of his million dollar smiles. Either he was extremely glad to see her, or he was really hungry and his order of beans and rice had just come. "What's up?"

She didn't even bother asking how Ash was able to walk in the sunlight. She had known long ago that the oldest Dark-Hunter was somehow special.

"I wanted to talk to you two in a place where I knew Kyrian couldn't overhear us." Acheron wasted no time in getting down the nitty gritty.

"Okay, why?" Nick asked with his mouth full. He must have been pretty hungry, as he was half paying attention to Ash and half paying attention to how fast he could shovel the food into his mouth.

"Can I get you anything, miss?" The bartender had come back and Laine realized he was eyeing her low-cut shirt.

"Sure," Laine answered with a smile as she buttoned up her jacket. "Can I get a Coke?"

"Coming right up."

Nick made a snorting sound. "How come both you and Ash get come ons and I don't?"

It was Laine's turn to snort. "At least Ash gets good-looking women. It seems all I attract are the losers of the street." Laine wasn't ugly, but she also knew she wasn't the best-looking girl out there.

Acheron cleared his throat and brought the attention back to him, as the bartender came back with Laine's Coke. "Back to our discussion. The reason you're here is that I need your help to break the news to Kyrian that Valerius is in New Orleans."

Nick and Laine both choked. The man swallowed a large gulp of beer before replying, "Oh, like hell."

Laine felt another headache coming on. Here it was again, doing the impossible and almost getting her ass killed in the process. Just another day as a Squire.

"This is serious. Sooner or later they will cross paths and I want both him and Julian prepared for it." Ash's face was unreadable. "If, Zeus forbid, one of them kills Val, Artemis will have free rein to go after them. I don't want to see either one of them suffer or die. They have wives and kids who need them."

"So tell them," Laine said. She was still annoyed at his command for her to babysit Zarek. "Or take Nick with you. I'm through with dealing with Dark-Hunters that can't control themselves."

Ash looked at her, his jaw tense. "I want Nick to back me up, but I know that he's not exactly Valerius's friend. I want you to physically stop Julian and Kyrian if it comes down to it. Besides, you know their wives—"

"And I'm sure Amanda's going to just let the guy that looks exactly like Kyrian's executioner walk around her block."

Nick let out a tired breath and took another bite. "Exactly. Personally, I'd like to help Kyrian beat the crap out of that arrogant bastard."

"Nicholas Ambrosius Gautier, you watch your language!"

The man actually gave a small jump at his mother's Cajun drawl. Laine also turned around to find Cherise Gautier walking toward the three of them with a scowl on her face that told her Nick was in trouble. It would have been intimidating had Nick been about five years old.

Laine quickly moved Nick's beer closer to her.

"Laine, I'm surprised at you." She turned her eyes on her, and Laine felt herself gulp. For some reason, Cherise could always make her feel sheepish when she knew she was doing something wrong. She loved the woman, who mothered everyone. "Don't you be covering for him." But the look on her face was already softening. "How are you, honey?" She gave Laine a hug.

"I'm doing great, Cherise. It's good seeing you." And Laine meant it. Cherise was one of the few women she knew who had a heart of gold and really cared for those that she thought were thrown to the bottom of society's heap.

Cherise then turned toward her son, the scowl back in place. "Are you driving?"

"No, Mom. I'm sitting."

"Don't get smart with me. You know what I mean."

He flashed her another one of his million dollar smiles. It usually got him out of trouble, and Laine would know, as she had been around Nick and his mother for a long time. Cherise had practically adopted her from the bears at Sanctuary. "It's my first, and I won't drive if I have any more."

She then turned to Ash, the scowl still intact. "What about you? Are you on that motorcycle of yours?"

Only Cherise Gautier could make Ash look guilty. "No, ma'am."

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Nick look slightly annoyed.

Cherise gave him a hurt look, then, she looked at Laine and back at him. "Oh, I'm sorry, honey. Am I interrupting a date?" A huge smile lit up her face, but Laine could only stare back in horror.

"No!" she cried, and immediately gave Nick a wild look.

"No, of course not, Mom," the other Squire echoed.

His mother's face fell. "Oh, well." Laine gave Nick another exasperated look. Cherise had been trying to get them together ever since Laine turned sixteen. It was a good thing, Laine thought, that the two of them weren't the least bit attracted to each other. If Nick ever decided to show any interest, he would be dead with his name adorning the coffin in Sanctuary. The bears were incredibly protective of Aimee and Laine when it came to dating.

"And for your information," Cherise continued, turning to Nick, "I was walking to work and saw you in here. I just wanted to stop in and say hi since I won't be home until late and you busted out of the house at dawn without so much as a goodbye to me. Can't a mother send five minutes a day with her son without it being a criminal offense?"

Nick immediately looked sheepish. "I'm sorry, Mom. I had to do a few things for work this morning and I wanted to get it done so I could have more study time."

She gave him a hug. "It's okay. I understand."

She then turned to Ash. "I swear you're even thinner than you were the last time I saw you." She called over the bartender and ordered another red beans and rice. "You want anything else?"

"No, thank you."

Laine smiled. Cherise mothering Acheron was a funny scene, as Ash was probably older than she could ever imagine. She then turned her eyes to Laine and tsked. "I swear, I don't know why it's so popular to be skinny. I suppose it's all those skeletons posing as models these days. Girl, hasn't anyone told you men don't like sticks as girlfriends? Why aren't you eating?"

Her eyes widened. "I just had lunch, Cherise. I promise." The way this restaurant cooked red beans and rice made her want to be sick.

"Hmm." Cherise gave Nick another kiss on the cheek and turned an eye onto Ash before ordering him to finish the food. Then, she handed Ash two twenties and told them to take a cab home.

"Laine, you take care of these two boys and make sure they don't get into any trouble. And Nick, why don't you bring Ash and Laine over to Sanctuary tonight and let me make them some strawberry shortcake and Cajun hash browns? You can study in the back room if you need to and keep me company while I work."

"Yeah, okay. If I don't have to work, I'll stop by," Nick replied. Laine only nodded with a smile. As if she could ever control Nick or Ash.

Once Cherise was gone, Nick turned to Ash with a wince. "Thanks for being so cool with my mom." Ash nodded and smiled.

Laine bit her lower lip. "I don't understand why she's always trying to get us together," she commented. Then, she rolled her eyes. "Maybe it's because I'm the only decent girl she's seen you with. If maybe you took home a girl once or twice that wasn't a complete dirtbag, she wouldn't be so keen on planning our marriage."

Nick looked hurt.

"Sorry, hon, but they _are_ dirtbags."

Nick said nothing.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The order of red beans and rice came for Ash, and he pushed them first toward Laine, who turned green at the sight. "Then I hope you're really hungry," he said to Nick.

Laine's cell phone, which she had put on the bar, began to ring. She looked down, and to her surprise, it was Sunshine.

"Sunshine! Thank God!" Laine sighed in relief at the sound of Sunshine's bright and chipper voice. "Selena's been trying to reach you all day, and she thought that guy you picked up murdered you in your loft or something." She then paused and asked suspiciously, "Is he still there?"

The artist laughed at the other end of the line. "You and Selena sound exactly alike. I already have a mother, you know. And yes, Mr. Bodacious is still here. He's sleeping."

Laine rolled her eyes. "Mr. Bodacious? Really? What is he still doing there?"

Sunshine snorted. "Okay, _Selena_," she said, her tone exasperated. "He's allergic to sunlight and can't go out in the morning."

The girl gave a disgusted noise. "Sweetie, do you mean to tell me that he spent almost two days at your house? What were you DOING?"

Sunshine laughed again. The woman was positively giddy. "Well, not two days exactly. He left for awhile yesterday, but he came back last night. There was some psycho outside Club Runningwolf, and I didn't think it'd be safe for me to stay there. So I went with him." There was a pause, and Laine could almost see the sly smile come across Sunshine's pretty face. "As for what we were doing… what do you think?"

"For a WHOLE DAY?" When Laine realized what she was asking, she immediately corrected herself. "Actually, don't answer that. I don't want to know anymore. Ew. Honey, you just met this man!"

"I know. I know. It's totally not like me. But as I told Selena, he's like a triple scoop of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey," Sunshine explained.

Laine raised an eyebrow. What man was _that _wonderful? She had never heard Sunshine describe any man like that, and she had definitely never been around Sunshine when she was this elated.

"He was too much temptation," her friend continued. "I couldn't resist. He was a Chunky Monkey container and all I could think was, 'Someone give me a spoon.'"

Laine rolled her eyes. What in the world had come over her friend? "Ew."

"Even you can't say no to Chunky Monkey!"

She was right. Ben and Jerry's was the bane of her dancer's diet, and she hated herself for it. "Does this specific Chunky Monkey have a name?"

Sunshine laughed at her conservative friend. "You need to get laid, Laine. Then you'd appreciate the spectacular hotness of Mr. Chunky Monkey."

"Oh, gag me. Please tell me you got a name. Do you at least know that much about him?"

"His name is Talon. And for your information, I know every last yummy inch of him. And by the way, he had a lot of inches."

Laine's breath caught in her throat at the name. _Talon_?

No. It had to be a mistake. She kept her voice calm. "That's TMI. What does this guy look like?"

Sunshine laughed again. "You probably know him. He's a friend of Kyrian's. He's blond, got this great tattoo on his chest and arm, and he rocked my house down to its foundations."

"EW!" Laine tried to blot the image from her mind. "_That_ Talon?" She looked up to find Acheron and Nick staring at her curiously and tried to calm herself as she spoke to her crazy friend.

"Oh, you know him too?" she asked. "Then how can you even say that? Isn't he just positively bodacious?" Laine sighed. Sunshine was absolutely star-struck, but the last thing Laine wanted was her friend to get hurt again. After all, everyone knew Talon's reputation with women.

_Yeah, bodacious,_ Laine wanted to say. _And an absolute player when it came to women._ "Yeah, yeah," she answered, unable to deny the truth. "But, I mean, are you really happy with just a hot body?"

Sunshine paused. "You know, this is going to sound strange, Laine. But this has been the best day of my life." She giggled. "And to think I spent it with someone I've only known for eighteen hours." Laine wanted to scream. Apparently, Talon could make any woman incredibly happy in bed. But was Sunshine confusing her afterglow with real happiness? How would she feel afterward?

She ground her teeth when she realized she was meddling too much in Sunshine's affairs. After all, Sunshine was a grown woman and could take care of herself. "I just don't want you to get hurt," Laine said honestly.

"I know, I know," Sunshine said. "But I know what he wanted. It was just sex. No attachments. I know he won't be coming back. I'll talk to you later, ok?" The woman sounded a little annoyed, and Laine guessed that Selena had already lectured her on her actions.

"Ok. I'll see you later."

She hung up to find that Acheron and Nick staring at her and her phone. She shook her head slightly. "Don't ask. I'm about to barf. I just heard Talon referred to as a triple scoop Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey with a lot of inches. I'm never going to look at the man the same way again."

Nick was about to burst out laughing, but Ash swatted his arm, forcing him to turn to the TV hanging over the bar. Laine also glanced curiously at the screen. As the anchor spoke, photos of Zarek fighting the cops flashed across the TV. Both men cursed. Then, a perfect drawing of Zarek's face appeared, and the anchor urged the public to call the police if this man was seen.

"We're screwed," Laine said, rubbing her temples. All thoughts of Sunshine and Talon ran out of her head. She couldn't believe that Zarek had allowed himself to be caught on tape like this.

"Screwed blue and tattooed," Ash replied, and pulled out his cell phone to call Zarek. He cursed again as he pressed the cancel button. "His phone is off. He must be asleep."

"What are we going to do?" Nick asked.

"I don't know. We have to keep him hidden. With those pictures, he's as good as convicted."

Laine turned toward the TV, where the drawing of Zarek, with his goatee and his earring, was still showing. "Can't you do something though? Change it a bit?"

"My powers are iffy at best with modern electronics."

Then, something else seemed to catch Ash's eye, and he looked up at the heavens, as if asking the gods why they were bringing down so much trouble on his head. "Are you bored up there, Artie, or what?"

"What is it?"

Acheron jerked his head down Chartres Street at two men who seemed to be heading straight for them. One of them was about an inch taller than the other, and both were extremely good looking. However, Laine's attraction to them soon ceased when she realized how they were moving through the crowds. Both walked with the deadly gait of a predator, slow, their heads held high and their roaming eyes taking in everything around them. The people near them quickly moved out of their way to let them pass, and more than one woman crossed to the other side of the street with their children.

Both were dressed in all black, with long leather coats and biker boots. Laine would have laughed at the choice of outfit if it had been on anyone but them. They both had one hand tucked into the folds of their coats, as if about to pull out a weapon. She wondered for a second if they were going to rob the café.

But living with bears for over ten years had given her a sixth sense for supernaturals. On a second look, she realized that both were Katagaria. Wolves, most likely.

"Who let the dogs out?" Ash was snarling in his seat, grinding his teeth together. Laine almost felt sorry for the man. He had a rogue Dark-Hunter who was wanted by the police, a Mardi Gras Daimon heyday to worry about, and now, two Katagaria, who, by their strides, seemed to be leaders of their pack.

Nick, however, seemed clueless. "What?"

"Two Katagaria. Wolves," Laine whispered. As they moved closer, she began to think their faces seemed familiar. Suddenly, it dawned on her. She had seen them on the Arcadian and Katagaria website, being one of the few humans allowed on. Laine was adopted by the Peltiers as one of their own, and even though she wasn't Katagarian or Arcadian, the council had allowed her full privileges, provided she never ratted them out. Only God knew what they would do to her if she did. "They're Slayers."

Nick sucked in his breath sharply. These were the most deadly kind of Katagaria. But Ash raised an eyebrow. "The Arcadians would call them that. But their Katagaria brethren would call them Strati."

"_Strati _means what?" Nick asked.

"It's the correct term for Katagaria soldiers. Slayers kill indiscriminately anyone and anything that crosses their paths. Strati kill mostly to protect themselves, their pack, and their territory." Ash looked over at Laine. "Seeing as you've been living with some 'Slayers' all your life, I wouldn't be too quick of a judge of character if I were you."

Laine glared at the two that had entered the café and were quickly approaching their small group. "Whatever. I just know they better not be staying at Sanctuary."

One of the wolves seemed to have caught the last bit of her sentence, and turned his face to her in an angry sneer. Laine narrowed her eyes and didn't back down. These two had another one coming if they thought that they were going to find shelter with the bears. It was true that Sanctuary offered protection to whoever needed it, provided that they didn't violate any of Sanctuary's laws, but Laine wasn't about to let Slayers anywhere near her family.

"Acheron Parthenopaeus," the shorter of the two said, greeting the Dark-Hunter. "It's been awhile."

Ash nodded, and Laine moved closer to Nick. If the boy shot his mouth off now, he was as good as dead. "Vane, Fang," Ash said, nodding at each of them as he said their names. "What brings you two to New Orleans?" Laine could tell that even Ash was stiff.

The shorter one named Vane cast a look at Nick and Laine, and though he dismissed Nick, his eyes lingered on the girl. "We're denning," he said, without taking his eyes off of Laine. The girl stiffened even more and ground her teeth. Not only was it uncomfortable to be stared at by two Katagaria, but she could also feel that they weren't staring because they wanted to kill her. For some reason, they were curious.

"That's a real bad idea. It's Mardi Gras and we have a lot of Daimons who tend to party then. You need to take your pack—"

"We can't," Vane said, interrupted Ash. "We have six females in our group about to give birth."

Laine's shoulder relaxed a little. At least that was a better reason than she was imagining for the presence of the Katagaria. But if she wasn't mistaken, New Orleans was probably the worst place they could pick to den at the moment. Not only were there Arcadian Sentinels that would like nothing better than to kill these two, Daimons would be swarming them like flies, as the souls of pregnant Katagaria were especially powerful.

"And another one who gave birth this morning," Fang said. "You know our laws. We're stuck here until the pups are old enough."

Vane, however, was still staring at Laine. "You." His harsh glare was starting to make her want to turn around and run. "You look familiar." He seemed to scan his thoughts. "Ah. You must be Laine. The human the bears took in."

The girl stiffened again. How had he known that? But she decided to ignore the question her head was buzzing. After all, as much as she didn't like Slayers, she wasn't about to let their young die. "You know there are at least three groups of Sentinels here?"

Fang snarled as Vane narrowed his eyes. "Then you'd best tell them to back off. We have young, and if I catch them anywhere near our den, I will rip them to pieces."

Laine inclined her head. If this was what got these two labeled as Slayers, then perhaps they weren't as evil as she had first thought. This was at least a legitimate reason to kill, unlike some of the Slayers that Sanctuary had hosted, who would have gone berserk if someone even looked at them funny.

Standing next to her, Nick suddenly sniffed the air. "What is that? Do I smell gumbo?"

"Nick—"

Before Laine could finish her sentence and grab the man, he had pulled back the corner of Vane's coat to reveal a pink box that was hidden in his left hand. "Since when do werewolves eat gumbo?" Laine finally reached Nick, and pulled him back by the arm. The man really was going to get himself killed one of these days if he didn't learn how to shut the hell up.

"We're not werewolves, cattle-boy," Fang said, baring his teeth at Nick. "We're wolves. Period."

Nick, however, didn't look the least bit perturbed. "Cattle-boy?"

"Slang term," Ash said. "Stemming from the fact that they view humans as food."

The man gulped, and stepped behind Laine.

"Pink boxes, huh?" the Dark-Hunter asked. At least he had a way of defending himself against the wolves.

Vane glared at him. "Anya had a craving for gumbo and chocolate. And she wanted it from the Flamingo Room and nowhere else." Laine softened, and she held much more respect for the wolves. Anyone who was willing to run such an errand for one of his pack was probably much more kind and moral than he pretended to be. Vane cleared his throat and gave his box to Fang as he scribbled a number on a pad of paper he took from his pocket. He handed it to Ash. "That's my cell. You need help with the Daimons, let me know. We have a dozen Strati in our pack and the last thing we want are Daimons sniffing around our females and pups."

Ash had barely taken it when Laine noticed more movement outside the café. It seemed as if the rest of the pack was joining them for a conversation. One of them, standing as tall as Ash, stepped forward when they reached the café. "Dark-Hunter. What are you doing with our _filos?" _

He snarled at Vane as he said the word. Well, there was no love lost there.

"I was exchanging information." Ash reached up, took off his sunglasses, and wiped the lenses with his shirt. The tall wolf took a step back at the sight of his strange, swirling eyes.

Growling, he turned toward Vane. "Did you acquire the supplies?"

Vane snorted in a very un-wolf-like way. "It's a sad day when cattle can smell it and you can't."

The taller wolf made a move as if to attack, but seemed to read something in Vane's eyes and stopped. Snarling, he held up a hand at Ash. "Later." With that, he led the rest of the pack away.

Laine raised an eyebrow. So Vane wasn't the leader of the Katagaria. This wolf was. But it seemed that both of them knew Vane was the stronger wolf. Well, that made for some interesting drama.

The two brothers stayed behind as the rest of the pack got on their motorcycles. "Use the number if you need us, Ash," Vane said. The two then swiftly walked out of the café and joined the other wolves.

Just then, Ash's cell phone rang. Laine didn't know how, but his face grew even tenser than before. "Who took Sunshine?" The girl gasped as Ash hung up the phone. "Talon's in trouble. We need to go now."

Laine furrowed her brow. "Something happened to Sunshine? That's impossible! I just talked to her on the phone!"

Ash was already striding toward the door, having left the money for the food at the bar. "Impossible if it were anything but a god," he muttered. "Come on. They used halogen lights to weaken Talon, and he's hurt."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8

* * *

**

The three of them entered the backdoor of Club Runningwolf to find Talon pacing the floor like an angry lion. The Dark-Hunter was covered in blood and Laine gasped when she saw his back. The man was riddled with bullets, and he must have been in tremendous pain, but he seemed to barely notice as he paced the room.

"Jesus Christ," she breathed and wanted to run forward to help him, but knew that Talon wouldn't appreciate her aid.

"Are you all right?" Ash asked.

"I'm sore, but well enough to hunt and plenty able to kill." The Dark-Hunter's normally handsome face was twisted into a snarl. Laine's brows furrowed. How could he and Sunshine have already established such a deep relationship?

"I thought your powers included healing," Nick said.

"They do," Talon said, wincing. "But I heal by absorbing pain and injuries into my own body. It's kind of hard to do that when I'm the one who's hurt."

"Nick," Ash said. "Go get Talon more clothes, now." The man immediately left.

Talon growled at Laine. "What the hell are you doing here? The sun's almost setting. Shouldn't you be with Zarek right now?"

Laine opened her mouth to protest, but Ash silenced her with a hand. "Laine's going to come with us to do whatever we're going to do. With Camulus behind this, we're going to need everyone we can get." The girl wanted to ask who the hell Camulus was and inform him that Squires were not allowed on hunts, but she decided to keep her mouth shut. If he was the god Ash was talking about, she didn't know what Ash needed her for at all.

"Talon, you can't go out there covered in blood with dozens of bullet holes riddling your flesh. I think people might get a little suspicious and wonder how it is you can stand upright and not be, say, _dead_. The last think I need is for another Dark-Hunter to make the evening news." Ash was clenching his teeth as he spoke, and Laine felt like she could cut the tension in the air with a knife.

"I told you, T-Rex. I'm heading out as soon as that sun sets. Thirteen minutes and counting."

"Turn around and face the wall." Talon did, and Ash laid his hand on the Celt's back. Laine watched wide-eyed as the bullets worked their way out of the Dark-Hunter's back and his skin healed over the wounds.

She gasped at Ash's powers. She had known he was powerful, but this was something else.

Suddenly, Talon's cell phone rang, making her jump. He picked up, his face still twisted into an ugly sneer. His face grew even blacker when he heard who was on the other line. "Damn you, Camulus. Damn you!" Laine clenched her fists. If Sunshine was hurt, she would—"Where is she?"

Suddenly, the Celt's expression changed. "Baby, are you okay?" His voice cracked, and the girl saw the pain and anguish on his face. Was it possible that he was in love with Sunshine? Talon, of all people? Panic flashed through his eyes again, and he gripped the phone harder, "Sunshine! Sunshine, are you there?"

Snapping the phone shut, he gave a heart-wrenching scream and punched the wall. Then, he headed for the door, even though the sun was still up. Laine immediately blocked his path. She saw the fury flash into his eyes and his hand jerk. He was going to hurt her if she didn't move, but she knew as well as Acheron that if Talon went out there like this, he would be good as dead. Never had she seen this Dark-Hunter be anything but cool and calm. This was a man she did not know.

"Talon!" Ash shouted before Talon could strike Laine. "Get a friggin' grip. If you go out there like this, you're dead."

"What the hell do _you_ know about it?"

Normally, Laine would have put an arm on Talon's shoulder, but now, she was afraid to touch him. Instead, she continued to stand in front of the door. "Talon, Sunshine is my friend, and I don't want her to die either. But if you don't think, she's going to." She took a deep breath as Talon turned his hate-filled eyes to her. "You're doing just what they want. You're about to run headlong into the last minutes of daylight. Don't let them do that to you."

Talon's fists began to clench and unclench as he took a deep breath. Laine could see that deep down, he knew that she and Ash were right, but his emotions were getting the best of him. "All right. I'm mostly calm."

Ash stepped forward and nodded at Laine, who let out a deep breath. "Good. Because I don't want you to be mostly dead. We'll wait on Nick to return with your clothes and then we'll go get her."

The other Dark-Hunter stepped away from the door and began to pace again. "Commerce Street. That's where she is. Isn't that almost right where that woman was murdered?"

It was the first time in a long time that Laine had seen Acheron look puzzled. "What woman?"

"The one you called me over to see."

Ash continued to look blank.

"You know. The woman you said you thought might have been murdered by Zarek." Laine raised her head. Talon had told her about this over the phone, but why was it that Acheron couldn't remember this? Talon saw Laine eyeball him and Ash, and nodded in her direction. "Laine, you remember. I called you and told you about it."

Laine bit her lip. "I remember. But I also remember telling you that if Ash really thought one of the Dark-Hunters murdered someone, that Dark-Hunter wouldn't be around anymore."

Talon shook his head in frustration and turned to Acheron. "You called me, and while I was with you, Zarek had his little party with the police. I know it was you. There's not another man on this earth your height who looks like you."

Ash looked as if he had seen a ghost as a look of realization came over his face.

"Ash, what's going—"

But before Laine could finish her sentence, Ash interrupted her. "There's something I need to do. Laine, you're going to go to Vane and Fang's den. We're going to need their help. Bring them to Sunshine's loft. Tell them they owe me."

"Wait, what?" But before Laine could say more, the room before her grew blurry, and suddenly, she saw nothing but white.

* * * *

Laine landed in a swamp on her back. As she scrambled, to her feet, she heard snarling, and was just in time to see a gray wolf running straight for her. It leaped up, ready to attack, and it was only just in time that she fell to the ground and summoned a mental shield around her. The wolf bounced off with a yip, and rolled over, a little perturbed, but unhurt.

The growling continued. She looked up to see the gray wolf suddenly change into Fang, and she got to her feet again, only to see Vane standing protectively over a large, female wolf. He saw who she was, and she thought she saw his shoulders relax a little. "It is unwise to surprise the Katagaria."

"Sorry," she said, still breathless. She was going to kill Ash after this. Who the hell did he think he was, throwing her into a den of wolves like that? "I didn't mean to. I'm here on behalf of Acheron." She looked around, and saw that she was alone with the three wolves.

Fang glared at her, but Vane made a cutting motion with his hands. "It's alright, _adelfos._ Watch over Anya." The older wolf made sure that Fang was with the female wolf before stalking over to Laine. "Come with me."

He led her into the woods, away from the den, and Laine realized that if his pack had known she was here, she probably would not be alive right now. "Ash should have called me," Vane said, and Laine gulped at his words.

"Apparently, this couldn't wait," Laine sighed. "Look, Ash wants your help. He sent me here."

Vane turned to her and glared. "Ash I can trust. I don't know about you. What are you?"

Laine blew out her breath, and couldn't help but notice that he had said "what" and not "who." It was as if he could sense that she was not entirely human. "I'm a Squire," she said calmly. "Ash says that you owe him, and that if you help him with this, he'll consider your debt repaid."

The wolf snarled and seemed to ignore the end of her sentence. "I know about our debt to Ash, and I know that it'll be repaid if we help him. I asked what you were." He turned his full glare onto her, and staring into his green eyes, she couldn't help but look away and gulp. It was probably the same look that he gave to his enemies before he slaughtered them.

"I'm a quarter Apollite," she said, staring straight in front of her.

Vane sniffed again. "And your powers?"

Laine bit her lip, her heart racing. "Look, who cares? We don't have time to chat. This is really urgent! We need to get to Club Runningwolf now!" She knew she sounded like a petulant two-year-old, and Vane didn't move. "Please."

The look disappeared from his face, and he nodded once. "What does Acheron need us for?"

"It's a long story, and I'm not sure what's going on," she said slowly. "Apparently, someone is pretending to be Ash, and it's working." She paused. "And my friend, Sunshine, has been kidnapped by some god that is out to get revenge on a Dark-Hunter. They came when the sun was up and used halogen lights on said Dark-Hunter." The wolf looked confused. "Anyway, I think Acheron wants you and Fang to act as some muscle that they won't see coming."

As she finished explaining, the other wolf stalked up to them, his eyes narrow as he stared at her. He had also heard her last few sentences. Then, when he approached, he unabashedly put his nose about an inch from her hair and sniffed. Laine wanted to raise an eyebrow, but Fang's very presence scared the living shit out of her.

"You're not all human," he said, his voice steely and low.

Laine gulped, and would have turned to run had Vane not put a hand out to intercede his brother. "She is part Apollite, and hence, our cousin." Fang's look softened a little as he backed up, allowing the woman to breathe. Slowly, he nodded to her.

Vane continued to speak. "Acheron sent her." He turned to her. "Where are we going and what are we doing?"

Laine smiled. "Club Runningwolf. To kick some serious Daimon ass."

Fang whooped, and Laine almost jumped. "Finally! Some action."

Vane just looked apologetic as he put his hands on both of their shoulders and teleported them out of the swamp.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews!

**

* * *

Chapter 9

* * *

**

Laine's head spun as they materialized at the doorway of Sunshine's loft to find Ash, Nick, and Talon there already. The first thing she heard was the sound of Nick choking. Then she noticed that Talon seemed to have showered and put on new clothes. The man actually looked alright for having been shot a million times.

"Oh man, I hate that pooling shit," Nick said as he coughed. He was holding up something that looked like moldy butter. "You scared me so bad, you made me eat this crappy cheese. What is this stuff anyway?"

Laine took a closer look and instantly knew. "Soy cheese." She walked over to examine poor Nick, who looked like he was about to faint. It was then that she caught the disgusted look that the two wolves exchanged.

"So much for _my _dinner. Now his whole system is polluted," Fang said. "Be at least a week before it leaves his cell tissue and he's edible again." Laine looked over at Nick, who looked even more faint.

"Guys, it's not that bad," she said, rolling her eyes.

"_You _take a bite then," Nick muttered.

Laine ignored him. "Are we ready to go after Sunshine?"

Talon nodded. He, of all the people in the room, hadn't cracked a smile at the exchange that had just taken place. "Let's do it."

Acheron looked over at the kitchen at the two Squires. "Laine, since you can't seem to keep an eye on Zarek, I want Nick to head over to his house and keep him there. If I catch him out, he's in deep shit, and so are you, Nick."

Nick stiffened at this. "Are you telling me that Laine is going to go with you?"

Acheron gave him a droll look. "Yes, but is it any of your business?"

The Squire clenched his teeth. "She could die!"

Laine shook her head in exasperation. "And so could you. Zarek might get tired of your stupid jokes and lop off your head."

Nick gave her a hard look before turning tail and stalking out. Laine thought she heard him murmur, "I swear, my mother should have named me Fido."

Fang gave him a mock snarl. "Hey, I'll have you know my best friend is named Fido."

Vane looked heavenward. "Would you stop?"

Ash ignored the comment as he nodded at the two wolves. "Talon, meet Fang and his brother, Vane."

Talon eyed them warily. He knew they were Katagaria, but Laine could tell that at the moment, he was desperate for any kind of help. He nodded. "Why are they here?"

The other Dark-Hunter raised an eyebrow. "Let's just say that if the bad guys are armed with halogen lights again, they won't have the same effects on the Katagaria that they had on you."

Vane laughed. "Yeah. Lights just make us attack more," he said, as he led them out of the loft.

"So, what's the plan, girls?" Fang asked when they met the cool night air. He then turned around and saw Laine. "Oh yeah, I forgot." The woman just ground her teeth. Like that made her feel any prettier. At least usually, the Dark-Hunters remembered she was female.

"For none of us to get killed." Ash was less than humorous as he spoke, as they made their way to the parking lot behind the club. Laine stopped dead in her tracks when Vane and Fury walked toward two black and gray motorcycles. Hadn't they teleported?

Vane saw her staring, and gave her a small smile. "It's good to have powers, huh?"

She raised an eyebrow. If he was being serious, Vane was much more powerful than she had first thought. Acheron also walked toward his motorcycle, leaving Laine to get into the Viper with Talon. Damn. Another crazy driver.

Within a few minutes, they were in the Warehouse District, and it didn't take much longer for Talon to find the place where Camulus was apparently stowing Sunshine. In those minutes, Laine was sure she had at least a dozen heart attacks.

As she stepped out of the car on shaky legs to look at the old warehouse, Talon stalked up behind her and handed her a long dagger. He had opened the trunk, and since Laine hadn't seen him stock up his car with weapons, she assumed this was what he always carried in the back of his car. Silently, she nodded to thank him, and faced the warehouse again.

The very look of the place was ominous in the moonlight, and the girl couldn't help but feel chills, even with Talon standing beside her. Turning, she saw that the wolves and Ash had also made it, and were currently removing their helmets.

"Uh, guys," Fang said, as he put his helmet down. Laine had begun to realize he was quite the chatterbox. "You do realize this is most likely a trap?"

Talon's eyes rolled heavenward beside her. "No, you think?"

The wolf snarled at the Dark-Hunter good-naturedly, but Laine's heart told her this was no time to joke around. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Vane replied, and their group headed toward the building.

Talon began to work the padlock, and Laine bit her lip nervously. Though her powers were never strong when she was nervous, she could tell even from here that there was something in that room that she had never encountered before.

Fang, however, was ever the cheerful one. "Ooo, breaking and entering. Brings back fond memories, eh, Vane?"

"Shut up, Scooby," his brother said. "And watch your back."

The padlock snapped, and even the wolves hushed as the door groaned and fell off its hinges. Talon growled something low, and Laine could only take it as some type of Celtic curse. He shoved the door aside, and she followed Vane, with Ash right behind her.

Their group fanned out in the dark building, and even with her Apollite blood, Laine could tell it was dark. A normal human would not have been able to see anything, and she could only barely make out the empty room that was apparently covered in dust.

A car outside drove by, its headlight illuminating the room for a few seconds, and Laine saw that the place was completely dilapidated, the floor covered with stains and dust. The walls seemed mossy, and spider webs hung in the corners.

A thumping came from somewhere upstairs, and it continued, rhythmic and eerie, as Laine heard a rat scurry by her feet. She felt her last meal churning in her stomach; there was only one thing she hated more than Daimons, and that was rats.

Fang hummed an annoying melody, almost like something from the Twilight Zone. "Hey Ash, you vant to suck my blooood?"

The girl threw an incredulous look in his direction and wondered how he could joke at a time like this. This wolf truly didn't care about his life. "No, thanks," Ash answered drily. "The last thing I want is to catch parvo from you or some other freaky dog disease that makes me lift my leg around hydrants."

Just then, something furry ran over Laine's foot, and she jumped. "Jesus Christ!"

"What?" All four men turned toward her, their voices alert.

Laine's heart was pounding in her throat, but she swallowed, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid. Here she was, about to face God-knows-what, and she was freaking out because there were rodents in the building. "Nothing." She ground her teeth to keep from screaming as another crawled over her other foot. "A rat was on my foot."

Fang snorted at her right. "Aw, is the wittle girl afwaid of the big, scawy wats?"

Laine felt annoyance swelling up inside of her. "Go sniff someone's crotch."

A thumping sound came from the direction of the wolves, and Laine guessed that Vane had somehow hit the other wolf. "Next time, I'm leaving you home," he said.

"Hey, that hurt."

"Yes, but not as much as this will." The deep, mocking voice seemed to come from all around them, and Laine felt her heart freeze. Her outburst must have allowed whoever else was here to pinpoint their location.

Suddenly, there was a whizzing sound, and even though it was far from where Laine was standing, she ducked. There was a thump, and the girl stood, looking around wildly. To her right, Talon had caught something that looked like a giant battle-ax. He looked merely amused, and passed it to Vane.

The wolf did not look happy. "Hey, dickhead, you should know something." Vane tested the edge of the ax with his thumb and looked past, into the darkness. "You attack my brother, you really piss me off."

With that, he threw the ax back at whoever had thrown it. Seconds later, there was sickening thud and a groan, and Laine guessed that it had hit its target. She unsheathed the long dagger Talon had given her and checked her boots to see if her other dagger was in place. She could feel the long sais she kept hidden under her shirt in shoulder sheaths. Armed and ready.

Searchlights turned on, and she squinted as Talon and Ash hissed in pain and ducked away from them, shielding their eyes. But just as suddenly as the lights had come on, they went off.

Ash generated a lightning bolt and threw it into the corner where the lights had come from, and someone shrieked before Laine smelled burning flesh. Before she could comment on the accuracy of the hit, Daimons began to pour into the room, all of them ready to attack.

Laine kicked the sword arm of one of them and stabbed him in the chest. He screamed in frustration as he disintegrated. Another came from her side. She punched out and caught him in the face, but this one was quicker and rolled with the punch. He came back and gave her a hard kick in the chest. Gasping, she fell back, but dodged his dagger and came up to stab him in the back. Yet another was already on her, flashing its fangs.

"Hot damn, Daimon food," she heard Fang say, laughing. There was not a note of strain in his voice. Apparently, he was having a wonderful time with this. "Hey, Vane, you want the white meat or dark?"

The wolf next to her caught a Daimon in the chest with a knife before stabbing the Daimon that had her in a headlock. "How about I grab one leg, you grab the other, and we make a wish and pull?"

She nodded at the wolf, but couldn't understand their humor. Looking up, she saw that Talon and Ash were fighting off mobs of Daimons, and still more were coming toward them. It was as if they were pure Daimon bait.

Laine ran toward them and pulled the dagger out of her boot. She needed to fight with both hands if she wanted to even make a dent in their numbers. She had worked Mardi Gras patrol before, and she knew that Daimons swarmed during that time, but this was just ridiculous. Being part Apollite, she could access Apollite and Daimon website, but nothing on there had said anything about this massive turnout.

She fought with all her might, and just as she was sure she was on the last Daimon, two pair of hands grabbed her from behind. "Hey, they have a human with them," a voice said with glee from her right shoulder.

"Just our luck. She's part Apollite. And with that soul, she'll last at least six months," the other cackled. Their grips on her arms were steely, and she couldn't move her arms as they dragged her back, using her body to shield themselves as Ash and Talon finished the other Daimons around them. They immediately turned to her and saw her plight.

"Let her go!" Talon snarled.

"Not a chance," the Daimon on her right hissed. Even she knew that she was the only chance for their survival in front of two Katagaria and two Dark-Hunters. Cursing herself for being so stupid, she struggled against their grip.

"Come any closer and I'll kill her," the other said, drawing out a long blade from his waist and holding it near her throat. Laine could hear the blood rushing in her ears, and stared back at Talon and Ash, whose eyes were blazing. They knew they could do nothing without harming her. And she was in their way to get to Sunshine.

"And you," the first Daimon said to her. "Keep struggling, and I'll take your soul right here and now."

It wasn't much of a threat, she knew, and she continued to fight, even though their grips on her were solid. Apparently, he wasn't kidding. With a snarl, he ripped her shirt at the shoulder and sank his teeth into her neck.

Laine screamed. The pain, hot and searing, was unbearable, and she could feel the Daimon's sharp teeth cutting deep. He pulled away, delirious from the heady drink, and just then, his grip loosened. She took the chanced to kick back, getting him straight in the chest. As he staggered, she ripped her arm away and grabbed one of her sais, which she plunged into chest of the other stunned Daimon.

The first Daimon rose again, and she caught him at the neck with her hand. "Don't make a threat you can't keep," she snarled, and finished him with a sais to the heart.

Fang whistled. "I'm starting to like you more and more," he said, grinning. "How about dinner tomorrow night?"

Laine cast him a droll look. "Sorry, I don't date dogs."

Vane smirked.

"Let me take a look at that," Talon said, walking toward her and eyeing the wound on her neck.

She shook her head. "I'm fine." She had enough Apollite blood in her to heal faster than most humans, especially when it came to cuts. Her blood congealed especially quickly, as Apollites had to feed off of each other without killing themselves.

"Well," the younger wolf said, pretending to have a thick Southern accent. "I have to say it's mighty nice of them Daimons to clean up after themselves when you kill them. It's much better than slaying an Arcadian." He held up his hands. "Look, Ma, no mess."

Laine turned to Vane. "Does he have an off switch?"

Raising an eyebrow, Vane shook his head.

Before Laine could reply, she saw that Talon was already rushing up the stairs. "We have to find Sunshine."

"Wait!" Ash called, agitation in his voice. "You have no idea what's up there."

"And I won't know until I get there," the other Dark-Hunter said determinedly, climbing the stairs as fast as ever. It was only then that Laine realized the thumping was still going on, and she quickly followed the Dark-Hunter, even though any movement hurt her neck.

She followed him into a room, where Sunshine was tied to a bed and writhing as hurt or on fire. "Oh my God." Laine sucked in her breath as her friend fought against her restraints and moaned. Though she was sure Sunshine was in pain, Laine couldn't help but think that the sounds she was making weren't of anguish but of… desire. She turned questioningly to Acheron.

"Behind you!" he shouted.

Before Laine could react, a strong hand covered her mouth, and another grabbed her around the waist, completely subduing her. The man's grip was strong, and even as she struggled, he laughed at her weakness.

Talon turned, and rage filled his eyes. "Camulus, you son of a bitch!"

The man behind her laughed again, and then brought his face down to her neck, where it was still trickling blood. "Right back at you, Talon," he said, his hot breath scorching her ear. "And no, little human. I'm not a man. I am a god."

Laine froze. So this was the god Acheron was talking about. Camulus had taken Sunshine. And he was reading her thoughts. Holy crap.

She scrambled to put up a mental shield, but her thoughts were too scattered as she breathed heavily, trying to take in this information. What did they want with her?

"So you're the shithead we're here to see, huh?" Fang snarled as he crossed his arms.

Laine heard footsteps behind her and realized that more Daimons were joining them.

Camulus ignored Fang and licked the remaining blood from her neck. She cringed as he sighed, and she felt his erection pressing against the small of her back. "Tell you what, Talon. We can have a trade. You take that human female for now, and I'll take this one."

The Dark-Hunter's eyes flashed, and Laine knew that he was seriously considering it.

"No," Acheron snarled. Laine's heart raced at the indecision and rage in Talon's eyes. What did this god want with her that he would trade her for Sunshine?

Talon growled low in his throat, and Ash put a hand on his shoulder. "No, Talon. We are not trading one human life for another."

"No?" Camulus smiled. "Why don't we let the girl consider." He turned to the side. "Damien, I have someone I'd like you to meet."

With that, he threw her to the floor. Laine landed painfully on her knees and gave a cry as the god pulled her hair so that she looked up. A Daimon stared back at her, his expression blank. She couldn't breathe when she recognized who it was. "An Apollite," Camulus said slowly, "working for the Dark-Hunters. One who betrayed her race. What should we do with her, Damien?"

The Daimon's expression changed to one of disgust. "Kill her."

Laine barely registered the words as she looked up into the face that she had seen every night next to her bed. Countless times she had seen the face in that picture, even kissed it before going to sleep. And all this time, she had thought she was staring into a face that had died long ago, a face that belonged to someone who she would never know in this lifetime.

She heard Camulus laugh behind her, but she didn't care. "Damien Theotocopolous!"

The Daimon stopped turning midway, and stared at her, his eyes dark. "How do you know my name?"

She heard another man step up next to Camulus and whisper something in his ear. The same man then snarled in the direction of the two Dark-Hunters and wolves and threw a god bolt in their direction.

Ash laughed as he deflected it. "Nice seeing you too, Dionysus. I noticed you're not looking too good in your godhood."

Camulus, however, ignored the anger in his partner. Laine's head spun, trying to figure out why a Celtic god would ever band up with a Greek one. What were they trying to do, anyway? "You don't recognize your own brat, Damien?" Laine saw the look of horror and pain come over her father's face. It was a face that was forever preserved at twenty-seven, but in his eyes, he showed that his appearance belied his wisdom. "This was the filthy breed you created by marrying that whore."

A vein suddenly throbbed in Damien's neck. "She was _not _a whore."

The god said nothing, but Laine knew what she had to do. "Talon?" Her head was aching from Camulus's pull. "I'm willing to make the trade. Take Sunshine. I'll go with them."

For a second, nothing happened. She only looked into her father's eyes, and he stared back. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, and there was no expression on his face.

Then, "Done deal."

The room faded around her, and suddenly, she was in another room that was pitch black.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hi, everyone! I just wanted to ask a favor. I'm kind of worried about how this story is doing, so please leave a comment telling me what you think could be better or what you'd like to see more of! (Style, plot, character, etc.) :) Thank you!  


* * *

Chapter 10

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**

"What the hell?" Fang looked to where the Daimons, Camulus, and Laine had been.

Three pairs of eyes turned to Ash, who looked more livid than any of them had ever remembered. Talon, however, was the angriest, as he knelt over the writhing and moaning Sunshine. "You told us she was only a quarter Apollite, and she had no living relations! Why the fuck is her father a Daimon? You let someone like her near us?"

Sunshine continued to moan, and Talon was soon occupied, though slightly confused. Ash quickly moved toward them and whispered something into Sunshine's ear, and she instantly went limp. "It's just a sleeping spell," he told Talon, who looked like he was going to see red again. "And as far as she was concerned, she didn't know her father was still alive." Ash ground his teeth, but the other Dark-Hunter did not seem convinced. "She was completely loyal to us, I know it."

Vane shook his head. "I don't understand how you let an Apollite serve you. Didn't you know that she was one day or another going to find out she had Daimon relations?"

Fang snarled. "And that would be day she betrays you."

Ash shook his head. "I don't think she will." He turned to the wolves. "Would you guys mind waiting for us downstairs?"

Vane inclined his head, and led his brother out.

* * * *

Candles flared up around Laine, and she found that she was in a small but well-furnished room. In the center was a four-poster bed, and next to it was a small nightstand and chair. Everything except the walls was painted in a stark shade of black. There were no electric lights, and candles dotted the entire room. On the wall above her head, there was a small, metallic claw holding a medieval-looking torch.

She got up and walked around, pushing out her powers to try and sense the environment around her. To her surprise, Laine felt nothing. Usually, she could project her powers so that she felt life within a hundred yards of her. But the walls must have been shielded by a force much stronger than her own, as she couldn't sense anything.

Immediately, she went toward the large black door that held a golden knob and tried to open it. Though she knew that it would be harder than that to escape, she was still disappointed when the knob would not turn. She walked back to the bed, her heart pounding.

Where the hell was she?

But even as the question entered her mind, the door opened, and Camulus walked in.

Evil poured off every inch of him, and it wasn't just his height that made Laine suddenly think that the room was too small to contain them both. His swagger was proud, and he had the eyes of a killer.

"You're an interesting one," he said slowly, glancing at her. "You barely have any Apollite blood in you. You walk in the daylight with no problems, you don't have fangs, and yet, you inherited most of Damien's powers." He paused. "I wonder if you inherited the curse."

Laine ground her teeth and tried to ignore the pounding in her ears. Her head was spinning with fear and questions that she wasn't sure she wanted answered. "What do you want with me? And where's my father?"

"You're powerful," he said slowly, and smiled. "And you should be with your people, not the Dark-Hunters. Even now, they doubt your motives. Do you really think that they will trust you again?"

The girl angrily shoved her hair out of her eyes. "If you want me to join you, you're wasting your breath."

Camulus gave a small laugh. "You say that now, so far away from your twenty-seventh birthday. But I wonder, when you feel the hands of decay on you, will you let yourself die?" Laine did not answer. Though she had always hoped that because she looked so different from Apollites, she also did not inherit their curse, she had never let anyone near her.

"Come with us," the god said again. "And you will never know death. The Great Destroyer will grant us all immortality and godhood." He read the confused look on Laine's face. "The Great Destroyer is the Atlantean goddess Apollymi. In a fit of anger, she killed her whole family, and is now trapped in the hell realm of Atlantis. She seeks to be freed, and will greatly reward those that free her."

The girl knew it sounded too good to be true. Like hell she would free someone so merciless as to be called the Great Destroyer. She was probably more of a bitch than Artemis if she could destroy her own family because she was throwing a hissy fit.

Laine opened her mouth to ask just how Camulus and, apparently, Dionysus, planned on doing that, when the door to the room slammed open. Damien – her _father_, she realized – strode in, his eyes on fire, dragging the limp body of… Acheron. She gave a muffled cry and leaped at the two, only to be suddenly thrown back by an unseen force that pinned her to the wall.

Upon seeing Camulus and Laine, Damien picked up the Dark-Hunter by the scruff of his neck and held a long, wicked knife to his throat. "Let my daughter go, or Styxx is dead."

Laine's mouth dropped open. Was this another name for Acheron? She strained her neck to look down at the figure, and no doubt, it _was _Acheron. The features were exactly the same, and their heights matched. She had known that her father had possessed extraordinary powers, but were they really enough to subdue Ash?

Camulus snarled at the Daimon. "What are you going to do? Turn against all of us and Stryker to run away with your brat?" Damien brought the dagger dangerously close to Acheron's jugular. The god bared his teeth for an instant, before releasing his hold on Laine. The girl skittered to the floor.

Before she could even stand, she found she was flying through the air, toward Damien and the figure that appeared to be Acheron. Her father easily caught her in one swift motion after dropping Ash to the floor. Again, the room melted before her eyes, and in another instant, another room reappeared.

"What—how…?" Laine fished her mind for words, but none would come. Her father set her on the ground, and she wobbled slightly, still unsure of her feet. Looking around, she saw that they were in a small flat. Dust covered the floor and there was no furniture anywhere. Shutting her eyes, she tried to recollect her thoughts. But her mind was too scattered for her to think clearly. "What in God's name just happened?" she burst out. "How did you subdue Acheron? Why are we here?"

His only response was to spin her around and cup her face in his hands as he stared into her eyes. His expression was indescribable: full of pain, sadness, and even anger. "Are you really her?" he whispered, his voice hoarse. "Or are you just another ruse? Trying to test my loyalty?"

Laine's thoughts stopped, and she looked guiltily at the floor. Preoccupied with her own questions and anger, she had not stopped to think about the danger her father had had to go through to bring her here. "I think I am," she said slowly.

Her father's eyes suddenly softened. "Your mother. How is she?"

The girl paused and stared at him. "You don't know?" The hopeful look in his eyes was enough to make tears come into her own. "She died more than ten years ago. I've been living with the bears at Sanctuary ever since."

The man before ground his teeth and closed his eyes. "Your mother cut off all ties with me when she found that I had become a Daimon. If only she knew that the only reason I did was to be with her and you…" But the sorrow in his face was gone as quickly as it had come. "Why were you at the warehouse with the Dark-Hunters?"

Laine did not know if she could yet trust this man, who she still could not believe was her father. But if he really did care so much about her mother, than was he after all a bad man? Still, how could anyone who survived off of the souls of others be good? "I am a Squire," she replied truthfully. "Camulus had taken a woman that belonged to one of the Dark-Hunters."

She watched as her father's jaw tightened. "How could you possibly join them against your own kind?" he growled through clenched teeth.

Laine's eyes narrowed. "My kind? You have to remember that I'm three-quarters human, and for my entire life, I've been running from Daimons." She looked away from her father. "You dare have the gall to ask me about serving Dark-Hunters when you take the souls of innocent people to survive?"

Damien snarled and backed away, his teeth clenched even more than before. "I only take the souls of those who deserve it. Murderers. Rapists. What would you have done if you knew you were going to die, leaving your helpless wife and child?"

She stared at the floor. Laine knew the reasons why Apollites decided to turn Daimon, but never had these reasons been so personal as now. She had always thought that she would never have children, never get close to anyone, and leave no one behind if she was fated to die on her twenty-seventh birthday. But others were different—had to be different for Apollites to survive. They had to have children, and which mother or father would allow their children to be left as orphans?

Turning Daimon seemed to be the only thing to do to survive and ensure the survival of their children. But she couldn't think about that. She couldn't think about any of that if she was to continue as a Squire. How many Daimons had she killed and deemed to be pure evil?

But if she didn't kill them, they would kill her. It was an endless fight that she was forced into.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I know we all have our own struggles." She looked around, trying to find some way to change the subject. "What is this place?"

Damien, too, seemed ready to speak of something else. "It was the first place that came to mind. This was the first apartment your mother and I rented when we got married." He hesitated then. "But we have to leave. Camulus, Dionysus, and Styxx won't be long in finding us."

There was that name again. The different one that he called Acheron. "Styxx?" she questioned. "You mean Acheron?"

Her father shook his head. "No. Styxx is Acheron's brother." He saw Laine's sharp intake of breath, but spoke no further. "Now, think of a place. We have to get out of here." He placed a hand on Laine's shoulder and closed his eyes.

The girl bit her lip, and tried to think. Nothing came to mind. There was nowhere safe for her to take her father. Even Sanctuary would not be a wise decision: even there he would run into one of the Dark-Hunters, and Laine didn't want to explain any of this to anyone but Ash.

Ash.

He would be the one to understand her. And if she wasn't mistaken, he was probably still at that old warehouse.

* * * *

The two reappeared in the darkness of the old art gallery, almost directly in front of the group of four men. Vane hissed at their arrival, but paused when he saw who it was. Fang and Ash also turned.

"Daimon!" Talon growled, and held Sunshine closer to him as he bared his fangs at Damien. Pure hatred poured forth from his gaze. "You did this to her!" He pulled Sunshine even closer to him, as if to shield her from his very presence. His gaze then bore into Laine. "You…"

She let out a long breath. "It's not what you think, Talon." Quickly, she turned to Ash, who held a small piece of paper in his hand and looked as if he was about to explode with anger. In an instant, the paper in his hand disintegrated. Laine was curious, but she had more important thoughts on her mind. She opened her mouth, but Ash held up his hand.

"I _know_." He spoke through clenched teeth, as if this was just one more thing he had to worry about. "Vane, Fang, Talon, this is Laine's father. He risked everything to bring her here." He glared at the girl as if everything was her fault, and she gulped, looking away. "She didn't betray us."

Laine looked up to see that Talon and the two Were-Hunters were having serious doubts about that. Well, wasn't that wonderful.

"You are going to Sanctuary," Ash said slowly and evenly, looking pointedly at Damien. In an instant, the Daimon was gone. Laine was left, open-mouthed.

"What the hell? He'll be killed!"

Acheron shook his head. "He knows the Peltiers. How do you think they agreed to take you in after your mother died?" Laine's mouth fell open again. Ash then dispatched Talon and the two wolves, and followed them out of the building.

The girl walked beside him, and it was only until no one else was in sight that Ash turned to her. "That was a stupid thing to do, agreeing to go with Camulus." It was impossible to miss his meaning. The expression on his face was unreadable, but at least his cheeks were no longer mottled with red. He seemed to have calmed down somewhat, though he still did not seem happy with what she had done. "The Dark-Hunters will no longer trust you, and I'm going to have to release you from your duty as a Squire."

Laine wanted to scream in protest, but she could find nothing to say. Deep down, she knew that what Ash was doing was fair. After all, which Hunter would let her serve him now that she was so intimately tied to the enemy? But even worse, that was one less person to help this wretched situation going on right now. If she thought she was in deep shit, Ash was dead and buried.

Wearily, she nodded. "Fine. Contact the Squire Council and flash me to Sanctuary. I need to be with my father."

Ash shook his head. "No. He can take care of himself. I need you here."

Laine let out a long string of curses to let Ash know just what she thought about that order. "You just relieved me of my duty. And now I want to go back to the one thing I have: my family!"

The Dark-Hunter looked at her steadily through his sunglasses. "I'm sorry, Laine. But I need you to do this right now."

The girl clenched her teeth. "So you're going to use me and then dispose of me? I'm not an object you pick and put down, Acheron."

Ash continued to stare at her. "What will you do? Just leave everything as is? Will you allow everything to fall apart?"

"I don't understand why you need me."

He shook her head. "Because we're basically screwed. In the next twenty-four hours, I have to find a way to get Zarek out of here before the cops find him, and unless I miss my guess, the next act of my nemesis will be to tell Kyrian and Julian who their new neighbor is. Vane and Fang can only do so much. Nick isn't any good in a fight. I'm depending on your level-headedness."

The girl saw red. "My level-headedness? Are you kidding me?" She slashed the air viciously in front of her. "I have nothing more to do with this. You knew that my father was still alive, and you told me nothing!" The open-mouthed look on the Dark-Hunter's face showed that her guess was true. "Because of you, I never knew my father!" Not thinking, she pounded a useless fist against Ash's chest. "I hate you!"

But before she could continue her rant, her cell phone rang.

"What?" she barked into the receiver.

"Uh, Laine?" It was Nick. "Is Ash there with you?"

The girl clenched her fist and silently counted to ten before she answered. "Yeah. He is."

Nick let out a string of curses. "Well, then I guess I'm dead. I need you two here, at Zarek's house right now. He sneaked out and has been attacked pretty bad." Laine repeated Nick's curses, and then relayed the information to Ash.

The Dark-Hunter's eyes widened, and before she could finish speaking, the room around her vanished.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11

* * *

**

She reappeared in a dark alley, her head spinning and her stomach churning. This was way too much flashing in and out for her in one night. Rushing into a corner that she hoped was darker than the others, Laine bent over and emptied the contents of her stomach on the pavement.

"Jesus Christ!"

Had she been more alert, she would have jumped back and attacked. As it was, Laine weakly recognized the voice as Nick's and continued to retch onto the ground.

"Are you ok?" the other Squire's voice came from behind her.

She straightened a little, hoping that she wouldn't heave again. "Fine." Turning around, she scanned the area and found Zarek on the ground. His entire right arm and right side of his chest was smoldering, as if someone had just turned him over a barbecue spit. The alley smelled of burnt flesh, and Laine was afraid she would vomit again.

"Holy," she breathed, walking toward the Dark-Hunter. It was only then that she realized Acheron was nowhere to be found. "Where's Ash?"

Nick shrugged. "I thought he was with you."

"He was, until I told him what happened," Laine said, her anger building up even more. So he was going to fire her, make her do more dirty work, and not even face her? The asshole. "Then, poof. I'm here and he's not." She knelt, but was afraid to touch Zarek's wounds. "What the hell happened to him? Isn't he not supposed to be out here?"

"You're telling me." The other Squire grunted as he picked up the Dark-Hunter by heaving him over his shoulder. From his grimace, she could tell that Zarek was heavy. "I was just grabbing some dinner and what happens? His tracker goes off. So I trace him to this area and find him here, barbecued."

Laine growled. "Give me your keys. I'll drive your car up so you can get Zarek in."

Twenty minutes later, after getting the unconscious and very heavy Dark-Hunter in the backseat of the Jag, the two were speeding down the street toward Zarek's house. Though Nick had first suggested Kyrian's, Laine had fervently rejected the option. The last thing they needed was to get Kyrian and Zarek, two men who hated Valerius's guts, to meet each other.

Each by himself Valerius could handle. The two of them together just might kill him. And as much as Laine disliked the Roman Dark-Hunter, his help was crucial at a time like this.

Acheron was waiting for them at the townhouse.

Even before Nick could apologize, Laine exploded again. "Are you kidding me? You were here the whole time? Didn't you think to go over there and poof us?" Her irritation with the Dark-Hunter was growing by the minute. Who did he think he was, letting them do all the dirty work?

He gave her a rare scowl. "I had some business to attend to first," he said, and slowly made his way toward Zarek. His scowl deepened when he saw the burn down Zarek's right side. Extending a hand, he healed him.

Nick shook his head. "Man, that's just too cool."

Laine said nothing.

"Nick, take him into his room and make sure he doesn't wake up."

The Squire smirked. "How? Hit him over the head with a steel mallet if he does?" Still smiling at the thought, he let out a grunt as he picked Zarek up off the floor and carried him through the door.

Laine was left alone with Acheron.

"Laine, I know you are angry," he began slowly, looking after Nick. "But I hope you've calmed down, because as I said, I need you to do this."

Feeling no calmer than before, the girl still tried to keep her voice to a minimum; she didn't need Nick, one of the few people who knew her secrets and trusted her, to lose faith in her as well. "Why should I care?"

Acheron's expression was blank as he turned to her. "Because you do. Even if you tell yourself you don't, deep down, you worry about Sunshine, Talon, and the rest of us. You know that if you don't help, Sunshine could die and Talon would continue to live out the rest of his life as a Dark-Hunter, hurt again and even more afraid to reach out."

Laine clenched her teeth. As much as she hated to admit it, Ash was right. She cared too much about Sunshine and Talon's plight to just turn her back on them, even if Talon no longer trusted her because of her Apollite heritage and her newly found father. Taking a deep breath, she raised her eyes to the Dark-Hunter.

"What happened to Sunshine back at the warehouse?" she asked. "Why as she so… strange?"

Ash's expression changed back to a scowl. "They gave her a drug used only in Atlantis. It hasn't been used since. It's called Pleasure, and basically acts as an aphrodisiac. It makes the user lose all inhibition so they seek nothing but the relief of orgasm."

Laine narrowed her eyes. "Why would they do that? If Camulus wanted to hurt Talon, wouldn't he have done something much worse?"

She watched as the scowl deepened again. "I don't think it was so much a warning to Talon as it was to me."

The girl's mind immediately wandered back to the scene between Damien and Camulus. "My father said that you had a brother. He called him Styxx. Why is your brother siding with Camulus? And what do they want in all of this?" She decided to leave out the most obvious question: you have a brother?

The Dark-Hunter looked away. It was the first time that the girl had seen him look ashamed. However, this seemed to get a straight answer from him. "Styxx is my twin brother. Camulus and Dionysus are gods that have lost most of their power because they are no longer worshipped. During Mardi Gras, they want to use Styxx to unleash the Destroyer because the barrier between Earth and the Atlantis hell-realm will be very close. They think that she will be grateful enough to give them back their original godhoods. But they're wrong. The Destroyer is called that for a reason. She will only bring death and destruction to the world."

Laine's head spun with questions. "But how can they release her? And why would they send a warning to you?" She paused for a second. "Do you have the power to unleash the destroyer?"

Ash ignored the question and turned away immediately. Laine watched as he clenched and unclenched his fists. Whatever she had said, it had struck a nerve. She watched as he fought for control, and wondered again what bigger role Ash played in all of this and what he wasn't revealing to the rest of them.

"You must ask the Peltiers to join in this fight. They'll be more than happy to work out some Daimon control during Mardi Gras. Tell them I owe them." Ash's voice was strained as he formed the words. It was obvious he was trying to change the subject.

Laine let him. Though she was still completely confused, she at least was getting a few answers, even though they seemed to make Ash more than a little uncomfortable. However, like always, Ash wasn't going to tell her everything. Every person had the rights to his secrets, and if Acheron didn't feel like spilling his guts about his past to her, she had no right to be angry.

Counting to ten, she opened her eyes.

"Fine," she said evenly. "And about Valerius, I'd go ahead and break the news to Kyrian about him like you were planning on doing. And you should probably also keep Zarek in the city."

"Police?"

Laine shook her head. "They'll be so busy during Mardi Gras, they wouldn't recognize him if you handed him over on a silver platter. But I guess I would pretend to be getting Zarek out of here just in case Camulus and them are watching."

Ash nodded. "It's risky, but I could get Mike to fly Eric St. James out in the guise of Z."

The girl narrowed her eyes. "And what about Sunshine and Talon?"

"I've already asked Vane and Fang to post a watch around the swamp. There won't be any surprise attacks on them, I can assure you."

Laine nodded briefly. "And my father?"

The Dark-Hunter still did not turn around. "I assure you that he's fine at Sanctuary." His voice became low and steady. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about him before, Laine."

Yeah, he had better be. She was still pissed off enough to give him a good ass-kicking for what he did. But she had to focus on the now. And now…

Laine paused. What was she to do? Go back to trying to be normal? Pretend to be a regular human studying theatre at Tulane? Forget about the world of Dark-Hunters and shapeshifters until she had to go home for the holidays? Not a chance in hell if she was going to accept the fact that she now had a soul-sucking Daimon for a father.

"So what do you want me to do now?" she asked, unable to come up with any answers for herself.

Ash gave a sidelong glance. "Now?" He paused and looked toward the room, where Nick still had not emerged. Laine had to give the boy some credit. At least he knew when he wasn't wanted in a conversation. "Go home and get some sleep. Nick can look after Zarek for tonight and tomorrow. But I'll need you to tail him at sunset. Even Nick needs rest."

Sleep.

It sounded good. God knew she was dog-tired, but she couldn't just go home and forget about this for one night. She still had to go to Sanctuary. She had to deal with her father and Maman.

"Well, since I don't have my car, do you mind zapping me to Sanctuary?" Laine asked.

Ash almost smiled. "You'll find your car outside. You can drive." The girl growled, and Ash shrugged. "Hey, just because—"

"I know, I know," she interrupted, throwing her hands up in disgust as she stalked towards the door. "Just because you can doesn't mean you should."

Sometimes, she hated Ash.

* * * *

It was almost three in the morning when Laine finally parked her car behind the bar and walked into Sanctuary. At this late hour, the bar was closed, but the house out back was still lit up. Some of the bears were hopelessly nocturnal, and nothing was ever going to change that.

No one but those authorized were allowed into the house or upstairs into the attic, as both were designated animal areas. The last thing the bears needed was for a human to stumble onto one of them while they were changing, or worse, run into the dragon that was sleeping upstairs.

Laine quietly unlocked the door and slipped into the house, only to bump straight into a man well over six feet tall, with waist length blond hair. "Jesus Christ, Dev!"

The bear had a long sword at his side that he was about to unsheathe. He jumped back and almost stumbled, something quite amusing to see in such a large man. "Laine!" He caught himself just in time. "Don't just sneak up like that. I thought it was someone trying to kill us!"

The girl straightened up from her own crouching stance and rolled her eyes. "I don't think a murderer would have taken care to lock the door behind her." She smiled and looked up at the bear. Despite his temper, he was a good brother, and she had missed him. "How are you, Dev?"

But even as he hugged her, his gaze became stern. "Don't play innocent with me," he growled, letting go of her. "You better get in here and explain to _maman_ and the rest of us why the hell a Daimon landed in the middle of the bar, seemingly out of nowhere, during the busiest time of the night."

Laine's eyes widened as she pulled away. "You didn't hurt him, did you?"

Dev growled lower in his throat. "We don't like Daimons, Laine," he said quietly. "But even we recognized him."

She let out a sigh of relief. "Where is he?"

The bear led her through the hall toward the room Nicolette and her husband shared. "He's sleeping," he said, lowering his voice so as not to wake the other occupants in the rooms around them. He turned and his eyes bore into Laine's. "But if I'm not mistaken, he's going to have to feed soon."

He didn't have to explain any further: they both knew what he meant. Damien needed a soul soon, and it was still up in the air whether he would be able to resist all the powerful, Katagaria and Arcadian souls around him. Laine had brought a very formidable power among their midst, and no one knew if he could be trusted.

On the subject of Daimons, her mind suddenly realized something. "Oh, yeah. Ash wants you guys to do some Mardi Gras duty. He says he owes you."

The bear let out a long breath. "We can get everyone. Some of us are going to have to man Sanctuary, but tell Ash he can count on us." He paused. "Something big is going to happen this year, am I right?"

Laine sighed. "Yeah. Something big."

They stopped outside of Nicolette's door, and Dev knocked.

"Come in," _Maman_ answered, her French accent thick despite all the years she had spent in New Orleans. Dev nodded once at Laine and left her.

Swallowing hard, she opened the door.

Nicolette was by herself, sitting at her chair and flipping through a book. Had Laine not known better, she would have thought Nicolette was just another mother, getting ready to go to bed. But she did, and she knew that when _maman _slept, it was not as a human, but as a bear. Papa, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Mon cheri," she said, smiling, and indicating the large couch next to her. "It is good to see you after so long." Laine walked over and kissed her on the cheek before sitting down.

"It's good to see you too, _maman_," she replied. "And I'm sorry for bringing danger to Sanctuary."

Nicolette shook her head and put down her book. "I do not blame you, _ma fille_," she said. "Damien was a great friend of ours before he…" She furrowed her brow. "Decided to change." Nicolette put a warm hand to Laine's cheek. "But we must accept him. He has harmed no one here, and though he has taken in evil souls, they do not seem to have affected him."

Laine looked down into her hands. "I thought he was dead."

The bear smiled sadly. "And so did I. It is both wonderful and unsettling to see him again."

The girl bit her lower lip. "Is he… different?"

Nicolette looked her in the eye. "Different? How do you mean?" she asked. "He hasn't changed in that he is dangerous, and fiercely loyal. He would kill anyone who tried to harm you." At the startled look in her eyes, Nicolette smiled. "Yes, Laine. He loves you, even though he never got to know you. Your mother was horrified that he had turned Daimon, and ran away with you, but he has never stopped searching. We hid you on your mother's request."

Laine gulped, remembering her mother. She had been the gentlest soul she had ever known. She couldn't blame her for fearing her husband after he had become Daimon. "Why would she do that?"

The bear turned away. "She had seen firsthand what turning Daimon could do to a person, and she was afraid that the man she loved was gone. She was afraid he would hurt you and her."

So that was it. It was a misunderstanding, stemmed from love. Her father and loved her and her mother too much to leave them to fend for themselves in a dark world, and had decided to turn Daimon. But her mother had been afraid he would change, and come back to attack them. No doubt, after losing them, Damien had no choice but to join the ranks of Daimons under Stryker, and was probably still alive because he agreed to help Camulus and Dionysus.

Laine gulped, as she realized how many Daimons she had killed over the years. How many of them had been forced into it because they hadn't wanted to see their children and wives suffer? How many of them had been good men?

"We decided not to tell you the story until you became of age," Nicolette continued, "but we waited even longer after you decided to become a Squire. And when your father stopped sending us messages to keep an eye out for you, we assumed he had died."

Laine clenched her fists. Though she could understand what they had done, she could only wish they had told her sooner. If they had, she wouldn't have so much blood on her hands.

Nicolette put a hand on her arm. "I know you are conflicted," she said softly. "But it is a gift, as well as a curse. You are like Colt. You now understand both sides of the struggle, and that is something that not everyone will always see." She paused, and Laine nodded. Colt was an Arcadian Sentinel that the Peltiers had adopted as their own when he was only a child. He had grown up with Katagaria, but was chosen as a Sentinel. And now, he knew about both worlds. Laine couldn't imagine the struggle he was in.

"I am no longer a Squire, _maman_" she confessed softly.

The bear didn't seem at all surprised by the news. "Go and see him in the morning," she told her. "And go to bed. It is late."

Nodding, Laine kissed her again, and left.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

But Laine wasn't able to talk to him in the morning. Upon waking and getting breakfast, she learned from her brothers that Damien had gotten up and left mysteriously before dawn had cracked. When questioned, he said that he had unfinished business to attend to, and the bears had taken it to mean that he had to feed. They didn't question him any further after that, and left him with the warning that there would be no feeding on Sanctuary grounds.

Laine knew better than to try and find him in daylight. Daimons were known to hole up where no one could find them so that they wouldn't be vulnerable at their weakest times. _Not very different from Dark-Hunters_, she couldn't help thinking.

The bears didn't need any help in Sanctuary at this time, and since it was the weekend, Laine had no class. It was a good time to catch up on her studying, but she knew that she was too antsy to sit still and look over notes. Instead, she made up her mind to visit Sunshine and see how she was doing. If Talon hadn't told her by now about the Dark-Hunters, despite his oath, she was going to break it to Sunshine herself. The woman didn't deserve to be kidnapped and drugged without even knowing what she was getting herself into.

With this decision in mind, she assured her brothers that she would be fine, and drove toward Jackson Square.

Upon arrival, she quickly found Selena, but Sunshine was nowhere to be seen. The other woman, however, seemed quite happy about her arrival.

"Hey Lainey!" she called, waving her over to her stand. "What's up?"

The girl smiled. "Not much, Sellie. I was just wondering where Sunshine was. I'm worried about her being with that new boyfriend of hers."

Selena raised an eyebrow. "Why? Because it's Talon, and he's a Dark-Hunter?" Laine gasped, but the psychic waved her off. "Oh, please. Bill is one of the leading lawyers for the D-H's and the Were-Hunters, so I know all about them. And I know that you're a Squire."

The girl bit her lower lip. "Bill?" Mr. Laurent was one of the most normal people she knew.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Hello? I'm Amanda's sister. She's married to Kyrian." She gave the girl a sidelong glance. "I'm surprised _you_ didn't know."

Laine shook her head to clear it. Were there any normal people that _weren't_ involved with the Dark-Hunters in New Orleans? Well, normal and not crazy, unlike her best friend Tabitha, who seemed to know about the existence of vampires, but not the Dark-Hunters.

"Whatever," she said in exasperation. God knows she was used to eccentricity. "Do you know where Sunshine is?"

Selena shook her head, but even as she was, Laine heard a bustling behind her. Turning, she found Sunshine struggling toward her stand, a bunch of paintings slung over her shoulder and a bag full of pottery in her other hand.

Sellie snorted. "Well, I was wondering when she was going to come back to work."

Laine ran over to help her friend. But even as she reached down to grab the bag of pottery, someone snarled close to her ear. "Touch her and I'll kill you, Apollite."

The girl jumped and backed away, almost dropping the bag of pottery before catching it with her mind and returning it to her hand. In an instant, Vane was between her and Sunshine, his gaze piercing her to the bone.

"Vane!" Sunshine cried. "She's my friend!"

The wolf growled.

But Laine had had enough. "Down, boy. I'm just trying to help Sunshine."

Vane never took his eyes off her as she spoke. "She's an Apollite, Sunshine. And her father is a Daimon."

Sunshine gasped and backed away, but suddenly, she paused. "Talon said that Apollites and Daimons couldn't be in the sunlight. How are you here?"

Laine's heart wrung. "I'm only a quarter Apollite, Sunshine," she replied. "And I swear I'd never hurt you." She gave Vane a dirty look. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Last night was really crazy for all of us."

Still, Sunshine backed away behind Vane. "How are you mixed up in all of this?"

The girl looked over at the wolf. "I'm guessing Talon has told you about the Dark-Hunters and the Were-Hunters," she said to Sunshine. The woman nodded. "I'm a Squire. I help the Dark-Hunters." Laine paused. "Or at least… I was."

Sunshine furrowed her brows. "Like Nick?"

"Yeah, but without the tacky clothes."

This almost elicited a smile from Sunshine. "So… you help Dark-Hunters and do musicals on the side?"

Laine gave her a half smile. "Pretty much. And my adopted family is a group of bears."

This time Sunshine laughed and glanced at Vane. "I'm guessing you don't mean that metaphorically." She stepped in front of the wolf and gave Laine a hug. "Glad to know I'm not the only with a messed up life."

Vane continued to give Laine the death stare, but Sunshine seemed to have waved away all doubts about the girl. "I'm supposed to be meeting someone today, and I'm really excited!" she blathered. "If they like my artwork, it could be displayed in a restaurant chain that spans the nation!" Sunshine's smile was contagious. "That means I could finally open my own gallery and everything."

Despite everything on her own shoulders, Laine found herself grinning too. "That's great!"

The woman waved to Selena and turned back to the girl. "So, what about you? Are you doing any shows right now?"

Laine shook her head. "Not right now. But there's an audition coming up for _We Will Rock You _at the university, and I'm hoping to do that." She glanced uneasily at the wolf, who continued to glare at her. "Your body guard doesn't seem to like me."

Sunshine shrugged, and Laine tried to brush it off in the same way. But it hurt that Vane seemed to have thought nothing of her fighting beside him the night before. It was as if having any relations to Daimons rid her of all good qualities.

But as she slathered on sunscreen and continued the conversation, even Vane began to lighten up. She and Sunshine gabbed about their past few days, and Laine learned that Sunshine was absolutely smitten by Talon, or, as Sunshine continued to call him in the presence of Laine, Mr. Chunky Monkey.

They only slowed when they both spotted a familiar face in the crowds of Jackson Square.

"Hey, Sellie," Sunshine called. "Is that your sister, Tabitha?"

Laine shielded her eyes to catch a glimpse of her weird yet completely loyal best friend. Tabitha was dressed like always: a tight black T-shirt with baggy black pants and a silver studded belt. Her black hair was pulled back in a loose bun. Many stepped away from her goth exterior, and even more seemed frightened by the long scar that ran across her face. Tall and thin, Tabitha could have been a model if she chose.

Seeing the three of them, Tabby broke into a grin and jogged the rest of the distance over. "Lainey, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!" The woman grabbed Laine and picked her up in a bone-crushing hug. She quickly greeted the other two and threw a sidelong glance at Vane, who continued to sit on his stool, unmoving.

"Wow, Laine," Tabitha smiled, raising an eyebrow. "New boyfriend?"

Both the girl and Vane snorted.

"She wishes," Vane said under her breath.

Laine reared on him. "Like I said before, I don't date dogs."

Tabitha laughed. "Speaking of dating, Lainey, have you gotten laid yet?"

The girl gaped at her friend's forwardness. "Tabitha! I don't want to discuss my sex life in the middle of Jackson Square!"

The other woman laughed. "I take it that means no." She crossed her arms. "You only have a week left for the bet that we made, you know."

"What bet?" Sunshine asked, just as Laine groaned in despair. She had forgotten about the only night that she had actually let Tabitha get her drunk. She had said some stupid things and even agreed to a bet that she knew she had no chance of winning.

Her best friend's smile broadened. "Did you know that Lainey here is practically the Virgin Mary? I don't think she's ever so much as let a man touch her."

Laine wanted to bang her head against Sunshine's stand. "Why don't you say that louder, Tabs? I don't think the other half of New Orleans heard you."

Tabitha responded by squeezing one of her cheeks in her hand. Sunshine and Vane looked like they were trying very hard not to laugh. "So, I decided to help her along and tell her to loosen up a bit." She gave Sunshine a wink. "Men are dogs, but sometimes, they can be fun, and I didn't want Laine to miss out on anything."

The other woman rolled her eyes. "_You_ didn't help me. Spiking my drinks did, though."

Her friend pretended not to hear her. "She claimed that she could get a man if she wanted to, but as of the moment, hasn't found one to her liking. So, I bet her that she couldn't get laid by the end of this month."

Laine saw Vane turn very discreetly away and stuff a fist into his mouth. Sunshine, however, had more poise. "What were you betting on?" The girl had never in her life wanted to hit Tabitha in the nose so desperately.

The other woman smiled and winked at Sunshine. "Well, we both said winner could do whatever she wants to the other." She turned to Laine, the evil smile still playing on her lips. "Our annual modeling show at the beginning of next month. Guess who gets to be a lucky participant if she loses?"

The girl gasped. "You wouldn't!" Tabitha worked at a lingerie store that had recently been blossoming in New Orleans. Just a few years ago, they had started a fashion show where they would hire would-be models to wear their merchandise and act as employees for a day. Needless to say, this boosted business even more.

"Hi, Sunshine, you got anything new?"

The four turned to see Bride McTierney, another of Laine's good friends approaching. She looked stunning with the sun bouncing off of her dark auburn curls and the long black dress that she was wearing. Like many of Laine's friends, Bride was a few years older than her, and they had actually met when Bride baby-sat for her when she was only five. Bride had gotten along well with Laine's mother, and had seemed to enjoy coming over to watch her when she was just a child.

Laine closed her eyes briefly. She found that she still could not keep her eyes dry when she thought of her mother and her death. But thoughts of her mother led her to think of her father, of whom she did not know the location. She found herself suddenly irritated. Why had he left Sanctuary so early on? Why had he not even waited to greet her?

Blinking away the tears, she greeted Bride with a smile.

"No," Sunshine said," sorry. I haven't been painting the fantasy or Jackson Square stuff lately. I've mostly been working on commissioned pieces."

Bride snapped her fingers. "Rats, I just moved into a new apartment was hoping you'd have something to make the drab walls tolerable." Though her tone was forcibly bright, Laine could tell that there was something wrong. Bride's smile seemed tight, and there was pain in her eyes. "Hey, guys," she greeted her and Tabitha, and gave them each a hug. "Are you okay, Lainey? You look exhausted!" Bride brushed a finger under Laine's eye, where she was sure she had black circles.

"I'm fine, Bride," Laine answered. "College makes me keep weird hours." She tried hard not to look at Vane, who knew the real reason why she had only had a few hours of sleep in the past two days.

"Why did you move?" Tabitha asked Bride. "I know you loved your place in Iberville."

"Taylor doesn't like coming all the way into the city at night so I thought it would be easier if I lived closer to where he works," Bride said. Her smile looked even more forced.

"But _you_ work in the quarter," Sunshine commented.

"I know. It's one of the sacrifices we all have to make for love."

Tabitha rolled her eyes. "Taylor is a dog," she muttered under her breath.

"Tabs!"

Still, the woman did not let up. "I know you love him, Bride, but I know a snake when I see one." She checked her watch. "Well, my shift is coming up pretty soon. I gotta go." With a small wave, she disappeared into the crowds of Jackson Square.

Laine looked over to Sunshine, and could see that she was thinking the same thing, but had better manners than to speak it out loud. For once, she agreed. Taylor was less than impressed with Bride's size: Bride had the face of an angel, and her Rubenesque figure was stunning, but apparently not in the eyes of the critical and material Taylor. It was always Bride who had to make the sacrifices in the relationship. Never had Laine heard of Taylor doing anything for her in return. This was why she hadn't given up her virginity yet: she didn't want to sacrifice her life for a man that she was attached to.

"Well…" Bride tried to alleviate the silence. "Give me a call if you paint anything new that I'd like, okay?"

Sunshine turned her beaming smile back on. "I will. By the way, you're looking really good. Have you lost weight?"

The other woman grinned, but Laine didn't see happiness in her eyes. There was only relief. "I'm down to a size sixteen. But I have to tell you that I am starving _all _the time."

"Yeah, but you're a knockout."

Laine bit her lower lip. "Bride, if you're starving, that's not good."

She shrugged. "Well, I'm eating. Taylor's signed me up for an aerobics class at his club that meets four times a week and that helped me to get a lot of the weight off. It's not just dieting."

The girl saw her glance enviously up and down her own body.

"You don't sound like you enjoy it very much," Sunshine commented.

Bride's eyes filled with envy and frustration. "I just hate having to put on sweats and then walk into a room filled with size-two women in leotards—like they really need those classes. It makes me want to head to Krispy Kreme even more than the diet does."

Sunshine laughed. "Tell me about it. I personally don't think they should make anything except gunny sacks for anyone under a size ten—oh, sorry, Laine."

The girl stared open-mouthed at the two women, who she had thought were incredibly beautiful. Anyone looking like Bride could turn every head while walking down the street, and Taylor obviously didn't appreciate what he had. "I don't know exactly what's so attractive about looking like a twelve-year-old boy. I'd give anything to have boobs."

Bride looked wistfully back at Laine, but then gave a start, as if shaking herself out of her trance. "Speaking of dress sizes and skinny women, I guess I better head back to the shop. You guys take care, okay?"

"You too," Laine said, furrowing her brows as Bride wandered off toward her store.

She turned back to Sunshine, ready to voice her opinions about Taylor's influence on Bride's self-esteem, but was stopped at the look on Vane's face. He had gotten up from where he was, and was almost directly behind Sunshine. "Who was that?"

Laine raised an eyebrow. Vane looked… hungry. Almost as if he was flushed with desire. "Her name is Bride McTierney. She owns a boutique over on Iberville."

"She's… very nice."

The girl drew in a sharp breath, and glared at the wolf, who was still staring off at where Bride had gone. Katagaria were not normally attracted to humans. What could Vane want with Bride? Laine furrowed her eyebrows, and stared at the wolf. He seemed to be holding onto his human form effortlessly, despite the height of the sun. He was obviously very powerful, but she knew that even Maman didn't like being human during the day. Could he…?

She shook the thought away. Impossible.

Vane was Katagari.

"You know, I could introduce the two of you," Sunshine said, not noticing Laine's warning glance. But Vane finally noticed it, and seemed to come to. He snarled at Laine, but retreated, a look of regret in his eyes.

Laine almost felt sorry for him.

"Wolves don't socialize with humans. You guys tend to freak out when you learn what we are. Not to mention, your females are rather frail. I don't like to hold back for fear of bruising or killing my partner when I mate."

Seeing that Vane wasn't going to make any advances on her friend, and that Sunshine was alive and well, Laine bade the two goodbye. She knew that she couldn't find her father at a time like this, so she drove toward her apartment. God knows she needed time to catch up on homework.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry I haven't been updating guys! I guess college just caught up to me. But now that it's summers, I have a few lovely chapters written and will be updating soon!**

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**Chapter 13**

Around seven o'clock, Laine went to buy more groceries for Zarek. It almost surprised her to find herself at the supermarket, looking at apples and asking for two pounds of chicken wings. It wasn't as if Zarke would be pleased to see her. Yet, she knew that Zarek's fridge contents must be running low, and it was not like any Dark-Hunter to go grocery shopping for themselves.

And though she did not want to admit it, she didn't mind being at Zarek's house. He was a bit scary at times, but otherwise, he had only seemed to want to fit in, to want human connection. And he wasn't a crazy, immoral bastard like everyone thought: he had known destroying her mother's CD would have hurt her, and had gone to buy her a new one.

And that was why she bought more than one filet, remembering that he had seemed to like the one she made him.

She walked up the steps and rang the doorbell with an elbow, as both her hands were packed with groceries. Again, she had bought too much, but she was planning on staying for dinner whether he liked it or not. The door opened to darkness so deep she could not see. Knowing Zarek was in there, she mentally flicked on the light that was there before kicking the door shut.

"Hey, I brought you some groceries."

Zarek was laying on the couch in black sweatpants and nothing else. She sucked in her breath at the sight. Artemis never chose ugly men. And after all, if you were a goddess and could have an army of badass soldiers at your beck and call, why not make them amazingly handsome and tall as well? Laine thought she had become immune to hot men: after all, the ones that usually hung around her were complete undead jerks who only referred to her as "little girl."

But Zarek was something else. Laine held her breath as she watched his stomach muscles contract and his arms harden as he lifted himself up the couch. He grunted before taking a few bags of groceries from her, and headed to the kitchen.

He walked like a predator, not like some of the other Dark-Hunters, who thought they were God's gift to women. Zarek was unaware that he was good-looking.

Even in sweatpants, Laine could tell he had a nice ass.

_What are you thinking_? The girl shook her head and walked after the Dark-Hunter. Her life was crazy enough right now for her to be worrying about men. Especially about a psychotic Dark-Hunter who would be shipped back to Alaska after Mardi Gras.

She walked into the kitchen and began to put things away in the refrigerator. She thought at first that Zarek would leave, but instead, he helped her by taking out the groceries and sorting out what went into the refrigerator and what went into the pantries.

Seeing the Dark-Hunter doing something as ordinary as sorting groceries made Laine soften her heart to him even more. She wondered what Zarek would have been like had he not been a Dark-Hunter, had he not experienced what he did. And with that, came the question of what happened to him as a man to make him the way he was. How could anyone be as scarred as he was?

"Did you have a family, Zarek?" she asked before even realizing her mouth was open.

Zarek's hands froze on a bag of chips. He looked down intently, not meeting her gaze.

Suddenly, he growled and shot a fireball at the faucet. It burst from its contents, sending water gushing through the kitchen as Laine screamed.

* * *

Such a simple damn question.

And yet, he couldn't answer her.

"She's your mother, slave. Didn't you know? Uncle freed her just last year."

"Why not go to her, Zarek? Maybe she'll take pity on you and have you freed too."

He had only been twelve when that happened. He was so young. So stupid. And as he stared after that woman, he actually believed that she was his mother. She had been beautiful, more beautiful than any woman she had ever seen. And he had dreamed about her. About how she had also been a slave, and how he had been ripped away from her at birth. How she had cried for him, always pining for her son, always loving him in her heart.

He believed them.

He ran to the woman, hugging her around the waist, telling her who he was, how much he loved her and needed her.

But she hadn't hugged him back or kissed him as he had thought. Instead, she threw him back, giving him a look of disgust. With her lip curled, he had hissed, "I paid that whore good money to see you dead."

Then a soldier approached them and asked if the slave was disturbing the mistress. She answered, "This worthless slave touched me. I want him beaten for it."

And yet, after two thousand years, the words hurt him so much more than the sting.

He couldn't take the pain that was ripping through him. He felt heat boil up from within, as his iron heart again turned to soft flesh that could be beaten to a pulp. He couldn't help but let out the pain, try to stop it, by screaming and lashing out with his powers.

As he expected, Laine screamed and shrank away from him.

Good. It was better if she was afraid of him. He should never have let her in the house. Never have bought that CD for her. Why had he let her buy him groceries? Cook him food? He had even enjoyed it. It had seemed so… normal.

Someone who didn't act repulsed by him, who was nice to him. Granted, she was getting paid huge sums of money to do it, but at least she pretended, gave some effort, unlike everyone else.

But she had to go. He would hurt her, and she didn't deserve that.

* * *

The instant he let go of the fireball, Zarek stormed out of the kitchen, the bag of chips soaking in the stream of water that was now shooting out of the pipe, onto the floors, the walls, the ceiling.

Laine leaned back into the corner where she had fallen, shivering not so much from the cold water that was now soaking her, but from the pounding of her heart. She had been up against some frightening things in her life, but never had seen been so scared as she was then.

Trembling, she got up and futility tried to brush water off of herself before stuffing a rolled up towel down the faucet to stop the water. Her thoughts went back to Zarek and how he had responded to her seemingly innocent question.

_You should have known_, she told herself. _Never ask Dark-Hunters about their past families_. And yet, she truly did want to know what had happened to Zarek.

By the time she finished cleaning up the groceries, her hands and head were steady. However, her teeth still chattered when she tried to open her mouth to sing quietly to herself to calm down. It was because she realized that she had seen something in his face an instant before he had thrown the fireball.

It wasn't anger or hate.

It was pain.

* * *

He hated being trapped. He couldn't go anywhere, do anything to alleviate the pain that was inside of him. Zarek had been sitting in his room for hours, playing fitfully with his retractable blade, but the memories Laine had brought up would not go away. It was even worse that he was hungry: hunger always made him think of the past.

But he was afraid of going out. Afraid of hurting Laine. He didn't know what he could do. That fireball could just as easily have hit her as the faucet.

_Haven't you just become the sentimental fool,_ he told himself. _Why do you care? _

Growling, he opened the door to his room, only to hear the sizzling of meat and smell the wonderful aromas of Laine's cooking. His stomach growled, and before he knew it, he was in the kitchen, staring hungrily at the food that had appeared on the kitchen counter.

Laine didn't hear him come in because she was humming again. After her scare, she seemed relatively composed, and had even cleaned up his mess. The kitchen didn't show a speck of water, and she had stopped the broken faucet with a towel.

He felt guilty that he had put her in such an awkward position, cleaning up after him and even cooking for him after his outburst. He knew that being a Squire, she had seen a lot, but by her behavior, he knew she was brave. When everyone else had run away, she had come back. Even now, as she softly sang a show tune under her breath, she swayed her hips to the music, dancing by herself.

Her jeans showed off her backside perfectly, and for moment, he was mesmerized by the movement of her hips. He wanted to lose himself in her body, lose himself in the carefree song that she was singing. Something about her innocence and positive outlook on the world inspired him.

"Let me help you with that." The words flew out of his mouth, almost as if by their own accord. She turned, startled by his presence.

He stood there awkwardly for a moment, then pushed forward, taking the oven mitt from her hands and taking the two pieces of steak out.

Laine was stunned to hear Zarek's voice behind her. She had thought she would just cook the meal and leave him with the food; she had not expected him to come out after her stupidly misplaced question.

The man leaned down to take the oven mitt from her, his eyes never leaving her face. The intensity in those blue orbs made her gasp and her heart race. Zarek was handsome, alright, but it was not just his features that made her lose herself in those eyes. His expression was neutral, but even in those seconds of looking into his eyes, she could see his pain, his longing for love, his attempt at trying to make up for what he had done.

His gaze left her face as he bent down and removed the meat from the oven. Laine watched as his muscles rippled under his shirt. It was so fascinating that she reached out to touch his arm as he set down the two plates.

He froze at her touch, and Laine hastily withdrew her hand, realizing the awkwardness of their situation. She quickly bent down and closed the oven door, but when she came up again, he was again turned toward her, his eyes searching.

He was so hardened by his past, and yet his eyes resembled that of a lost little boy's. Her heart ached for his pain, and she wanted to hold him and tell him that everything would be alright. And yet, she knew he wouldn't appreciate any such gesture: he was too strong for that and would think her patronizing. How she wished he wasn't damaged…

The emotions from his face overwhelmed her, and she reached out again, touching his cheek. The slight brush was too much for her though, and even as her fingertips grazed the stubble that was there, she knew she wanted more. _You don't need this right now_, a small warning came from the back of her mind, but her body ignored it. Even that small touch had sent shivers down her spine. Turning up her head, she pulled his lips to hers.

Zarek wasn't sure what he was doing. All he knew was that he wanted this woman in a way that he had never wanted anyone before. The touch on his cheek had burned him to the core.

He wasn't used to his. He had died a virgin, and even after he became a Dark-Hunter, his sexual encounters were rare: he would usually pick up hookers or women that would never remember him. At least he never remembered them.

He usually took them from behind, quick and ferocious like the animal he was.

But this woman made him feel different. Her soft lips were gently playing with his, kissing him as if he was worth something, and her arms were around his neck, playing with his hair almost lovingly. This moment was different, intimate, something he had never experienced before. Even in their limited time together, he could see that she had a zest for life. Unlike many, she wasn't jaded, and faced the woes of her life with humor and sarcasm. She believed that there was still good in the world, and that was why she had believed there was still good in him.

She almost made him believe it too.

Almost.

Her smell of peaches and cream enveloped him, a heady draught that left him reeling and wanting more. His arms came around her back, crushing her to him as he deepened the kiss, using his tongue to explore the inside of her mouth. She did not back away, but kissed him back, pulling herself up with her arms so that she could kiss him even deeper.

Her body was soft against his, teasing his arousal. How he wanted to take her here and now… But he knew, somehow, that it would ruin the moment; Laine was not like the other women he had been with, and she would not agree to a quickie on the kitchen floor.

Laine could feel the coiled muscles on Zarek's back and arms, and it made her want him even more. She didn't know what had come over her. Her first kiss had happened when she was eighteen, by a foolish boy who had taken her out on a date without the Peltiers knowing. He hadn't a clue as to what he was doing, and the kiss had been hesitant and unsatisfying. She remembered thinking that if this was what kissing felt like, she didn't even want to think about sex. And so she had stayed a virgin, not really because she wanted to save herself for any particular person, but because she never felt the urge to be with a man.

Now, she moaned as Zarek cradled her face with his large hands, touching her delicately, almost as if she were breakable. He growled low and moved his lips to her neck, nuzzling and nipping as he went. She couldn't help but smile. This was the real Zarek, hidden away behind the façade of anger and pain; she wanted to get to know this tender, playful man.

He could feel the blood coursing in her veins as he kissed down her throat. He couldn't help but wonder how she would taste. But he had seen how much disgust she had expressed when he had told her he drank human blood. He couldn't do it. And yet, how much he wanted her life.

Zarek continued to kiss her, but she realized that he was hesitant, never doing more than touch her waist, her face, and other appropriate parts of her body. Her heart swelled when she realized that he was respecting her, not crossing boundaries that she may not want crossed. It made her want him even more.

She could feel his erection pressing into her stomach, igniting her passion even more.

_Laine, what are you doing_? The small voice in the back of her mind was speaking again, but she ignored it. _A hunter is never supposed to get involved with his Squire_.

_Well, I'm not a Squire anymore_, she answered.

Laine let her right hand trail down from Zarek's neck to the front of his pants, where the bulge seemed almost to be breaking through. Carefully, without breaking the kiss, she moved her hands down to the waistband of his pants, slowly caressing his shaft on the outside of the fabric.

Any thought that had been in Zarek's head scattered at the feeling of Laine's hands on him. He opened his eyes to peek, and saw her hands drawing near the top of his pants. Her hands were about to pull them away from his body…

When Bach's "Toccata in D Minor" began to play from her pocket.

They broke away with a curse from Zarek and fumbling from Laine. "I'm sorry," she gasped, her breath still coming short from their kiss. "It's Ash. I have to get this."

Zarek smiled as the ominous organ music continued to play until she flipped open her phone. He liked that Laine had a sense of humor, even when it came to something as serious as Acheron's phone calls, though he still wanted to Hunter for ruining the moment. At that thought, he immediately stopped himself.

He, of all people, had had a _moment_.

Zarek almost snorted at the thought. _Did you actually think this was something special_? Of course not. He might have been moved, but it was impossible to think that she had any feelings for him. In any case, whatever this was, it could not continue. Dark-Hunters were forbidden to form any sort of sexual relationships with their Squires, and if Ash or Artemis found out about this, they would be separated forever.

But something from the kiss had touched him, had woken something that he thought had been killed within him long ago. And he didn't want this feeling to end.

It had to.

Laine hung up the phone and looked up toward him. How he wanted to taste those lips again. "I'm sorry, Zarek, but I have to go."

"What does Ash want?"

"He's told Kyrian and Julian that Valerius is in town," she said slowly.

Zarek snarled at the name. "Who are they?"

Laine blew out her breath. "Long story."

"Tell me."

The girl looked down at her phone for the time and shrugged her shoulders. "Short version is that Kyrian used be a Dark-Hunter. Valerius's grandfather crucified Kyrian, who was a Greek general at the time, about two thousand years ago, and Valerius happens to be the spitting image of old grandaddy. Julian, who was trapped in a book as a sex slave from the time of the ancient Greeks, was Kyrian's best friend at the time. He was freed, and so naturally now that they are together and best friends again, they both want to kill the Roman."

Zarek raised an eyebrow. There were strange people in this world. But since they wanted the Roman dead, maybe he should have made some Dark-Hunter friends after all. "They want to kill the bastard, eh?"

Laine's eyes hardened. "Don't even think about it. Valerius is an asshole, but he doesn't deserve their hate."

Anger flared up within him. "Doesn't deserve it? He and his entire family should be burning in hell for what they did as humans!"

The girl took a step back at this sudden outburst. Zarek seemed to realize what he had done and snarled again before retreating back into his shell. Laine couldn't stand that the Zarek she had drawn out in that kiss was disappearing again, and she reached out to touch his arm. "What did he do to you to make you hate him?"

But the man that had kissed her was gone, replaced again by the cold, hard-hearted killer. "Long story." She opened her mouth again, but he growled, "You should go."

Laine bit her lower lip. "Alright. Call me if you need anything."

_I need you_.

The unbidden words flashed across his mind, but he wiped them away and said nothing. She squeezed his arm before leaving him in the kitchen with the two pieces of steak.


	14. Chapter 14

Thank you to everyone that has been reviewing! Please let me know how I'm doing. :)

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**C****hapter 14**

Just as Laine stepped out the door, Zarek's phone rang from the living room. Cursing, he rose and went to the couch, where he picked up his phone. "What?"

"Zarek," the familiar voice of Dionysus came over the other end. "Are you ready for tonight?"

Thoughts of Laine flashed across his mind. If he was going to go through with this, he would never see her again. It was probably best for both of them. One kiss shouldn't be shaking his resolve about any of this, but it was.

"I'm always ready to cause trouble," he answered.

"Good," the Greek god said on the other end. "Since Talon is now on to Styxx, it requires a little more effort for tonight's preparations. I'll need you to get Sunshine away from the Celt and bring her to me. She has to be in the warehouse by eleven-thirty. Now rest and be ready to kill Talon and Valerius."

Oh yeah. He could do that alright. But the other part of the bargain... And of course, there was another problem. "What about Acheron?"

"Leave him to us."

The god hung up.

Zarek clenched his teeth and threw the phone back onto the couch. He closed his eyes and thought of Laine, of how she smelled and tasted. She was so full of passion and love. When they had touched, he had felt something other than the pain that was again gripping coldly at his heart. It seemed like it hurt even more than before. It was as if the gods had shown him a way out of his hell, only to bury it again.

"You don't need her," he muttered to himself. "You don't need anyone."

Still clenching his teeth, he got up to get dressed.

* * *

On the drive to the bar, Laine could not think of anything except Zarek. What had she been thinking? It wasn't as if anything would come of it. She was part Apollite and Zarek was a Dark-Hunter. And really, it had just been a kiss.

One that made her feel alive in every inch of her body. She wanted the man; she couldn't even deny her desire.

_Really, Lainey_? she asked herself. _Could you have found anyone more wrong for you? _Zarek and she had nothing in common. If he ever found out who she was, he would kill her. She rolled her eyes at the steering wheel, trying to shut the thought of the Dark-Hunter out of her mind. And just yesterday she had been lecturing Sunshine about Talon.

She wanted more from Zarek than just his body, however. She wanted to know who he was, what had made him the way he was. And most of all, she wanted to heal him.

_You're messed up_, she told herself. _Why are you drawn to the bad boys? You have enough to worry about in yourself. Besides, even if this works_…

Oh yeah. If somehow they ended up together, even if everything worked out the way she wanted it to, there was still the question about her twenty-seventh birthday. Would she slowly disintegrate or would she live?

_Why are you even thinking about this_? It was just a kiss. It wasn't as if anything would ever come from it. But she wanted it to. So much.

Laine entered the house behind the bar with her heart heavy, only to find both Kyrian and Julian already locked up in a room, with _maman_ as their jail keeper. It was a good thing Zarek wasn't here. Valerius wouldn't be able to take all three of them at the same time. Acheron, Nick, and Eric St. James were already there. Ash was pacing the corner of the room while Eric sat on the couch, staring into space and Nick munched on a bag of potato chips.

Like her, Eric was a Dorean Squire who had been dating Tabitha. However, from what she heard, they had broken up recently because Tabitha had come very close to finding out Eric's true identity, and had become frustrated that Eric kept so many secrets from her.

"Hey," she greeted them, and the two Squires nodded at her. Eric got up to give her a hug while Nick winked. The scrambling from upstairs heightened.

"Acheron, you better let me out of here," Kyrian shouted from upstairs. "Do you hear me?"

A loud bang followed, as if he had punched the door.

"Sounds like I missed a party," Talon said as he also walked in. Laine raised an eyebrow, but swallowed when he stared at her hard, not speaking. This was completely different from the Talon that had greeted her just yesterday.

"You have no idea. I decided it was best to keep Kyrian and Julian locked up until morning. I already called and told Amanda and Grace not to worry about them," Ash answered, still pacing. He only stopped to glare at Laine.

"I really wish you would let them out," a cold, accented voice came from the corner of the room. Laine whirled around to find Valerius sitting there, calmly sipping a glass of wine. He glared at her when he caught her staring.

Laine closed her eyes briefly and turned away.

Was there anyone here that wasn't mad at or suspicious of her?

"You look almost normal tonight. Are you going to stay that way?" Ash asked Talon. Normally, he wouldn't even have to ask, but Laine knew that when it came to Sunshine, Talon would overly protective. She had seen him last night, and knew that he would risk anything for her. Even their lives. And Ash couldn't have that.

"I told you I could contain myself," Talon growled. "Where's Zarek?"

"I have him guarding Sunshine."

The other Dark-Hunter cursed. "Like hell!" Laine's heart also stopped for a second, though not for the same reason. The gods wanted Sunshine, and if she was with Zarek, it would mean that they would be after the Dark-Hunter as well.

"Trust me, Talon, I believe in Zarek doing the right thing."

Talon snarled. "I don't trust him. At all. And after this, I'm not sure if I trust you." He looked around the room. "Why couldn't Laine do it?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Oh, so now you trust me?"

Talon narrowed his eyes at her, but Ash had had enough. "Enough bickering," he said, and slowly rubbed his temples. "Just do as I told you and everything should work out." Despite her annoyance with him, Laine suddenly felt for the Dark-Hunter. After all, if Styxx really was his brother, and he was working with Dionysus and Camulus to help free the Destroyer, then Ash was directly involved. And, if the Destroyer was anything like her name, Ash would have not just the fate of the Dark-Hunters, but the fate of the world on his hands.

The poor guy seriously needed some chocolate and a day at the spa. In fact, she would probably send both he and Zarek to a masseuse if she weren't so sure that the masseuse would need intensive therapy afterward.

"Should?" Talon was pushing his limits.

"Or we're all screwed."

"Gee, Ash," Nick said sarcastically, as he walked through the door. He had just caught the end of their conversation. "You're just so damn comforting sometimes."

"I try."

"And you fail admirably," Nick said.

Ash rolled his eyes, and told the rest of them about the joining of Dionysus and Camulus to try and retain their godhoods.

Nick gave a long whistle. "Does anyone else have an ulcer?"

Laine gave him a dirty look. "How do we stop them?"

"With a lot of faith and by doing exactly what I tell you to do."

The other Squire returned Laine's look. "Does anyone other than me think that Ash is being a little too vague about all this?"

Everyone but Ash raised their hands.

"You're not funny," Ash said, and turned to Valerius. "I need you on the streets with the Peltiers. At eleven-thirty, Dionysus is planning to unleash his Daimons on the population in order to distract us. Slay any of them you find."

Laine's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't been told that her brothers were going to be fighting Daimons. She knew perfectly well that they could take care of themselves, but Daimons were especially attracted to Were-Hunter souls, and hence, the Peltiers would be swarmed with Daimons tonight. She only hoped that they would stay together and that Valerius would think about something other than his own sorry backside for once.

"Nick and Eric," Ash continued, "I want you to be ready to mobilize if you're needed. Talon and Laine, you stay with me. We're going after Dionysus and his crew."

Nick gave a small pout. "How come she always gets to do all the fun stuff?"

Laine gaped at Nick. "I would happily switch places with you and Eric any day."

The other Squire gave Ash a hopeful look. "Hear that? So does that mean I can come along?"

Ash's eyes darkened. "Squires aren't supposed to be in combat, and you know that, Nick. Laine's a special case."

Nick blew out a breath of air as Valerius headed out, and he followed the rest of them into the courtyard.

Talon, Ash, and Laine headed off into the crowds as Nick and Eric turned in the other direction. Laine glanced over at the two Dark-Hunters and saw that they were both deep in thought, no doubt about their respective responsibilities. They were saving the world… again. And both had investments in this specific mission.

Acheron's brother was involved, and though she didn't know what their relationship was like, she couldn't imagine trying to oppose or even kill one of her own siblings. On top of that, he was their leader. She knew that he wasn't responsible for their lives, but he would feel it was his duty to make sure they were all safe. Come to think of it, she had never seen Ash not feeling responsible for something, and he had probably had that job for however long he had been a Dark-Hunter.

He must have been weary. Exhausted.

And Talon, who after so many centuries of remaining alone because he thought everyone he loved was going to die, was falling in love. He was going to kill Camulus, or Camulus was going to kill him. Either way, he needed to make sure Sunshine was safe. And if he died…

Laine tried to picture Sunshine's grief, but could not.

Sunshine had seemed truly happy when talking about Talon, something that hadn't occurred even once when she was dating her last boyfriend. Laine knew that Sunshine wanted her own life, and Talon seemed to give her that, instead of selfishly focusing on himself.

The two were made for each other, and Laine didn't want to see this happiness die.

Both men wanted to appear strong.

But their weaknesses were so plain to see.

Laine wished that she had some time alone with both of them so that she could reassure them somehow. Let them lean on her.

She pushed through the people around her, something she found much more difficult than the two men. Many of them were drunk from the Mardi Gras celebration, and she tried to hold her breath at the stench of the crowds drifting by her.

Mardi Gras was usually worse than Halloween in New Orleans, with both children and adults dressed up in ridiculous costumes. Even from where she was standing, she could see about five jesters, three go-go dancers… and a man dressed as baby Cupid with a giant diaper and a pair of gold wings. The man danced by, holding a small crossbow in one hand, which he used to shoot small gold arrows into the crowd, and a bottle of whiskey in the other.

Laine gaped when he waved a drunk hand at Talon and Ash.

"Eros!" Talon cried, taking the bow from him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm celebrating."

The girl stopped and stared. "Wait, you're telling me this is the _real_ Eros? As in Cupid?"

"That's right, baby," the god gave her a small wink. "And if Talon gives me back my bow, I can make all your dreams come true."

Laine was less than amused. "What's with the get up?" She didn't believe that Cupid actually pranced around in a large diaper.

The god shrugged and took another swig of his Jack Daniels. "If you can't beat them, join them. They expect Cupid in a diaper, so here I am. Cute Cupid in a diaper." He then threw an arm over Talon's shoulder, and Laine caught a whiff of his breath. Gagging, she realized that Talon and Eros must have known each other pretty well. "Hey, I found out something interesting," Cupid continued. "Dion has teamed up with another god for tonight's festivities. And would you believe, it's the same guy you were asking me about? What's his face, Camulus?"

"And?"

"Yeah. I heard Dion saying they were going to party with your woman and that the psycho Dark-Hunter from Alaska was going to hand her over to them."

Roaring, Talon shoved Cupid away from him and began to stalk toward his car.

The girl gasped. "Zarek wouldn't do that, Talon!" she cried. "Cupid just heard a rumor!"

Ash had grabbed Talon, and from the look that passed between them, she suddenly realized that indeed Zarek had handed over Sunshine, and Ash had known all along. Her breath caught in her throat, and her world changed around her.

"You knew?" Laine gasped at the same time Talon cried, "How could you?"

The other Dark-Hunter gave them both a hard stare. "It's all right, Talon."

"Like hell it is."

Laine closed her eyes for a moment, and couldn't understand how Ash would have allowed Zarek do this. But even more so, she couldn't understand how Zarek could hand over Sunshine, someone completely innocent in this entire ordeal. She had thought that she had seen something more in him. That kiss… it wasn't one of a deranged man who would turn them all into Camulus. He didn't even have a reason!

Unless he's actually psychotic…

No. He couldn't be. She hadn't kissed a psychotic man, hadn't felt that for someone that would kill the innocent. There had to be another reason. She needed answers.

She was so shocked that she was rooted to the floor, unable to process the thoughts that were rushing through her mind. The people around her became a blur, and she felt as if she would empty the contents of her stomach here and now.

"Damn you, damn you straight to hell!" Talon roared, and punched Acheron in the jaw. The sound of the blow woke her.

"Stop!" she cried, but Ash took the hit without flinching.

Talon lashed out again, but she had the sense to hold him back with her mind. It was difficult, as he seemed to be bending his entire will upon hurting Acheron, and her own mind was not entirely together. "This isn't accomplishing anything, Talon," she said in what she hoped was a warning tone. But her voice quavered in her own fear and doubt.

"It's making me feel better."

He made another lunge for Acheron, but the other Dark-Hunter caught him by the shoulder. "Listen to me, Talon. The only way to save the two of you is maintain your grip. Trust me. It's the way things are meant to be."

The two of you…

But what about Zarek? What was going on?

Talon's jaw ticked, but he closed his eyes and seemed to rein in his rage. "Where are they?"

"They're in a warehouse. If you'll calm down, I'll take you to it," Ash said. "The night is far from over, Talon."

Laine bit the inside of her lip as Ash put a hand on both of their shoulders. The scene on Bourbon Street dimmed, and in the next second, they were outside a warehouse.

The three of them made their way to the main room, when a bright light flashed from above them, and a loud scream pierced the air.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15

* * *

**

"Shit!" Talon shouted, before sprinting for the stairs.

"Goddammit," Ash breathed, as he ran after the Dark-Hunter with Laine right after him.

On the second story, they ran through a door only to crash into Zarek, who was covered in blood and carrying Sunshine in his arms.

"What the hell?" Talon cried. "What happened to her?"

"Zarek?" Laine stared, wide-eyed, at the deep wound on her friend's chest that was still spurting blood. It was as she feared: Zarek was insane. He had killed her. Suddenly, a deafening crash came from before them, and the door was blown from its frame.

"Run!" Zarek yelled.

Before they could, a swarm of winged creatures flew into the room. Screeching, they attacked, using their barbed tails and sharp claws. Laine had never seen anything like them, but immediately, pushed her way in front of their small group and used her mind to throw out a strong barrier, hoping to give Talon and Ash more time to run. Zarek, that bastard, could die.

"Augh!" The creatures slammed headlong into her barrier, incredibly strong. Some bounced back, dazed, but even more rallied to attack the invisible shield. "Hurry!" she cried, knowing that she wouldn't be able to hold them off for long; already, she was getting a headache from their combined power.

Acheron threw a bolt of lightning at them, and some of them backed away, but most of them continued to attack Laine's mental barrier. "Get Sunshine out of here!" Acheron ordered.

Slowly, they backed down the stairs, only to find Daimons coming up from below.

"Oh, holy shit!" Laine cried, as she extended her mental barrier to form a bubble around the small group. Talon pulled out his srads and tossed them, but it did not even make a dent in the Daimon force. "We're surrounded!"

Ash began to speak in a low voice, but Laine couldn't make out the words. However, the creatures immediately began to back away from her mental shield, flapping their wings as if confused. "Go without me!" he cried.

Laine breathed in at the brief release, but cried out again as the Daimons ran into the other side of her shield. "Keep going!" she cried, as she continued to push her way through the Daimons. Though they clamored near them, they could not get past her shield.

In what seemed like an eternity, Talon shoved open a door to a small room at the end of the hallway below the stairs, and they entered, slamming the door shut behind them. Exhausted, Laine let go of the shield. Immediately, a loud bang sounded at the door, almost pushing it from its hinges. "Shit, shit, and more shit," she hissed, and with what remained her powers, she threw up another shield in front of the door.

"I think she's dying," Zarek said slowly from behind her, indicating Sunshine.

"She's not dying!" Talon cried, his voice wild.

"Talon, I think she's dying," he repeated.

Laine gave another cry as one of the Daimons sent one of his own blasts at her mental shield. "Whatever you're going to do, do it fast!" she cried. "I can't hold them for much longer."

From behind her, she heard Talon lay Sunshine down on the floor. "Sunshine? Baby, can you look at me?"

"You're free, Talon," Sunshine's voice came at a hoarse whisper. "I made him break the curse."

"What?"

Zarek made an impatient noise, and ran for Laine just as she fell to her knees and the barrier almost shattered. He put his hands on her shoulders, and suddenly, she felt his power surging through her. Recharged, and completely unhurt, she stood. Then, she realized who was behind her.

"Don't touch me, you psychotic bastard!" she shrieked, trying to throw him off of her. She succeeded, and throwing back her head, she saw a flash of confusion and hurt on Zarek's face. The expression immediately disappeared, and his hard mask came across his features. Firmly, he stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders again.

She tried to shake him off again but found that his grip was too strong her for her. But she found that the power that was flowing through her was making the barrier stronger. She bit her lip, not understanding what the Dark-Hunter was trying to do.

"She traded her soul to Camulus so that he would set you free," Zarek explained through clenched teeth to Talon, as he fought to keep his powers flowing through Laine. "I told her not to do it, that it was a trick. She didn't listen and as soon as she agreed, the bastard blasted her."

"No!" Talon roared. "Sunshine, why?"

"He said he would kill you. I thought we would just take my soul. I didn't know he would do this. I didn't know he couldn't take possession of my soul without killing me first," Sunshine said.

"I'm not going to lose you again," Talon said through clenched teeth. "Not like this."

Laine felt Zarek tense. "What are you doing, Celt?"

"Stay away from me," he said.

Too late, Laine remembered what one of Talon's powers was. "Talon, no!" She tried to run forward, but she found another barrier before her. She turned to Zarek, and found that he was concentrating so hard, sweat was forming on his brow. "Let me through!" she cried, but the Dark-Hunter only shook his head.

He really was psychotic.

Horrified, she watched as Talon touched his hand to Sunshine's chest and absorbed the injury onto his own body. The gash on her friend seemed to melt away and reappear on Talon's chest. He gasped as the mortal wound appeared over his heart, and with a shuddering breath, fell to the floor.

Sunshine sat up, a stunned look on her face. "Talon?"

Laine tried to rush forward, but Zarek's mental barrier was still too powerful to let her pass. Her friend saw the blood on Talon's chest, and gave a hoarse cry. "Oh God, no! What have you done?"

"He took your injuries into his own body," Laine said in disbelief. "Now, instead of you dying, he will."

Sunshine gaped in horror at Laine, and then stared back at Talon. "No, baby, please! Don't die!" Tears streamed down her face as she cupped Talon's cheek, and Laine stopped struggling against Zarek. It was done, and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Shh," Talon hushed her. "It's okay."

Laine turned back to Zarek, who was now holding the barrier to the door all by himself. The effort was evident in his face, but still, he said nothing. She couldn't understand what role Zarek was playing. Was he actually crazy? What had he done? The girl tried to muster her powers, but the sight of Talon and Sunshine shattered her concentration.

Suddenly, Zarek gasped and stumbled back, and Ash appeared in a flash of light. "What happened?" he immediately asked.

Zarek growled, and rubbed his temples. "The Celt absorbed her injuries." The girl turned at the sound of his voice. It was hoarse, filled with disbelief, as if he couldn't fathom the reason why Talon would give his life for Sunshine. Laine wanted to hold him.

Bang!

The door again almost fell from its hinges, and Laine stepped forward to put up a mental barrier again.

"Don't worry," Ash said. "I have a shield on the room. The gods can't pop in here until they breach it."

"Yeah, but at the rate they're going, they'll have the door knocked down any second," Zarek muttered. He shoved Acheron and Laine towards Talon and Sunshine. "Go and get them out of here. I'll take it from here."

"You sure?" Ash said.

Laine looked disbelievingly at Zarek. "You can't take all of them!"

That evil gleam came back into Zarek's eyes. "Yeah, but I'll take quite a few of them with me."

The girl whirled around. She wasn't sure if it was because she was afraid for Zarek's life, or because she was afraid that Zarek would betray them again, but she wasn't going to let the Dark-Hunter be alone in this room. "No way. I'm staying here with you. Ash, take them and go!" She felt Zarek's stare on the side of her head, but refused to look up. Acheron looked at them hard, then gave a nod and opened the door at the opposite end of the room.

Something smashed into the door again, and it gave a shudder, as if unable to contain the force from outside. "So help me, slave," Dionysus snarled through the wood. "I'll see you obliterated for this."

Zarek stopped staring at Laine and let out a cold laugh. "Come get some."

Ash closed the door behind them.

Another slam, and the other door was blasted off of its hinges.

Daimons, the winged-creatures, and the two gods rushed into the room. "Oh Jesus," Laine breathed as she extracted her daggers. Before she could take another breath, they were on her. She screamed as she slashed out blindly with her weapons, trying to stop the flood of the creatures. It was impossible. She found herself being pushed, closer and closer to Zarek, until the two of them were standing shoulder to shoulder in front of the doors to the next room.

She threw out another mental shield, but it was nearly useless against the gods, who blasted it their godbolts, weakening her. With a cry, she fell to her knees, both her mental and physical strength gone. A Daimon stepped forward, its sword raised high, ready to bring it down on her neck.

Laine closed her eyes, ready to accept it.

She was so damn tired. Her arms and legs would not move at her command. Even her eyelids dropped as she fought against sleep. She heard Zarek's laugh above her, but she didn't know what it meant.

Why wasn't she dead yet?

She opened her eyes.

Zarek was standing above her, his mental shield wrapped around them. The Daimons and the winged-creatures could not get through, but the two gods were already within, battling Zarek with their godbolts as he sent his own energy beams back at them.

He was covered in blood and losing badly. Yet he continued to laugh, even as another godbolt singed his thigh, and his mental shield wavered.

Laine clenched her teeth.

She couldn't let him do this alone. The Dark-Hunter was a maniac, and didn't seem to care about his own life and death. Why would he want to turn Sunshine into the gods? But he was saving her now, and she couldn't just let him fight the gods alone. It wasn't in her nature. That kiss…

It had to have meant nothing. Right now, she had to keep fighting to keep Zarek alive because he had taken Sunshine and turned her in to these gods. He was going to suffer for what he did, and that meant keeping him alive.

Standing, she picked up a sais and threw it at Camulus. He laughed at the weakness of her throw and easily cast the weapon aside. She took her dagger and ran forward, slashing the air wildly in front of her. Dionysus roared and threw a godbolt.

Pain. Darkness.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16

* * *

**

Zarek saw Laine fall as Camulus's godbolt hit her in the shoulder. He cursed under his breath and tried to ignore the pain that flashed through him even though he himself was not hurt.

_Damn_.

The memory of her humming in his kitchen came to her. The way that she had held his hand under the faucet, her full bottom pressing into his groin. The angelic expression on her face when she had been asleep.

And most of all, that kiss. That scorching passion that had come between them just hours before. But now she was cold and hard, just as he expected her to be. Had he thought she actually had feelings for her? It was laughable.

He could not help but think of these thoughts even as he battled.

"What the hell," he muttered under his breath. He leaped toward the girl and put his mental barrier up around the two of them.

One of the gods threw a godbolt at him. His shield wavered again, as he felt a pain at his temple. It was nothing. He threw his head back and laughed. "Is that all you got, Dionysus?" he called, and threw his own energy beam back into the crowd.

Daimons continued to bombard him.

It was a good day to die.

* * *

Laine woke to pain so extreme, she cried out even as she opened her eyes.

"Hold her down," a familiar voice came, and a strong arm pushed down on her chest so that she could only squirm. She kicked out, wanting to be free, but another arm held down her legs and her hand.

Her arm…

It was on fire.

Someone laid something else down on it so that it burned even more. She screamed again.

But this time, she recognized the face of Carson Whitethunder, the live-in doctor and vet at Sanctuary, standing above her, pressing a gauze to a wound in her arm. He saw that she was awake, and in a soothing voice, he said, "Hold still, honey. It'll be over in a second."

She nodded, and turned to find Dev and Etienne working with Carson to hold her down. You sure as heck didn't see that everyday. Usually, Dev was so pissed off at Etienne that if the younger bear even looked at him funny, Dev would have pounced on him.

Carson spread a gel over the gauze, and immediately Laine felt the burning replaced by a wonderful coolness. "What happened?" she asked as Carson bound up her arm with a tourniquet.

"You were hit by a godbolt," he answered quietly. Laine thought she saw a temple twitch on Dev's temple.

"Dammit, Lainey," the older bear breathed. "So you wanted to be a Squire. Fine." She could tell he was clenching his teeth so as not to shout. "But why the _hell_ did you have to go and fight with the Dark-Hunters? Don't you know they have enough of them doing it? You wait until _maman _hears about this."

Laine's eyes widened. "You mean she doesn't already?"

Dev snarled. "No. And when she does, she's going to kill Acheron."

The girl cursed. "How did I get here?"

It was Etienne's turn to snarl. "That crazy Dark-Hunter brought you here. Didn't even care that the bar was full of people. Just ran in and shouted at the top of his lungs for the Peltiers."

Laine's heart skipped a beat. "Zarek brought me here?"

Dev rolled his eyes. "Jesus, Lainey. Your friends just get weirder and weirder."

She was about to open her mouth and protest when Carson silenced her with a wave of his hand. "Laine needs rest, not a lecture," he said in his slow, steady voice. "The two of you have done your duty. Now go. I'm sure she's going to get plenty of lecturing from Nicolette."

The two bears gave her disgruntled looks, but did not argue with Carson and left.

"Zarek brought me here?" Laine repeated her question, but Carson only shook his head.

"I do not wish to discuss this now. You need rest." He moved toward the IV that was hanging next to the girl. "I'm going to put some more depressants in you. You need to rest." Laine opened her mouth to protest, but a stern look from Carson shut her up and allowed him to add the drug to the IV while she laid down.

Pretty soon, she was out.

* * *

She woke to the buzzing of her cell phone. Laine's head felt as if someone was hammering it from the inside, and she clutched her head, trying to block out the annoying buzz. Still, it would not go away, and she growled as it continued to grind at her sinuses.

Finally, she sat up carefully from the bed, holding her head with her good hand and favoring the other. Though her burnt arm was not on fire as it had been before, it still ached a little when she moved it. But Laine had sustained worse injuries and recovered from them. She was a fast healer, and Carson knew that a higher iron concentration in the IV would make her better in no time.

Walking the IV stand, she found her clothes in a pile on a chair next to her cot, where her jacket had been. In the pocket, was her cell phone, still vibrating. The clock read that it was 5:00 p.m. The sun would be going down soon.

Seeing that the buzzing was not going to stop any time soon, she picked up. It was Sunshine.

"Sunshine?"

"Laine? Are you ok, honey?"

Laine paused and scanned her mind. Hadn't Sunshine been covered in blood the last time she saw her? "Yeah. Are _you_ ok? How are you even talking to me?"

There was a silence on the other line. "You don't know what happened? I've been trying to call you all day yesterday, but you weren't picking up."

The girl bit her lip. "How long since that night—?"

"Two days," Sunshine answered. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Talon told me you were there, but then, we couldn't find you or Zarek."

Laine sighed. "I was hit by a godbolt, and Zarek took me back to Sanctuary. What exactly happened?"

"Zarek turned me in to the gods." Laine cursed, but Sunshine interrupted her. "No, Lainey. I don't think he was doing it because he's evil. The gods promised they would end his existence if he gave me to them, and they promised him that they wouldn't hurt me. He didn't just want to die, Laine. But end his existence."

She couldn't help but gasp. Zarek had wanted death, and that was the only reason he had agreed to turn her friend in. And she had thought perhaps she touched something in him that night. Of course not… After all, it had just been a kiss. She was thinking too much about it. Obviously, she meant nothing to Zarek. As if the man would live just because of her. It was just stupid and wishful thinking.

The thought should have relieved her. It discouraged her from pursuing anything else with the Dark-Hunter, but instead, she felt a pain stab at her chest. "How terrible does your life have to be for you to want nothingness?"

"I don't know, Laine," Sunshine said. "But it has to be pretty bad. That man is in a lot of pain, and that was the only reason he turned me in. Don't think worse of him because he did that. I just want you to know the whole story, because I think you deserve to."

Laine was silent. "Talon told me that you found your father, and he's a Daimon. You agreed to go with Camulus to trade for me, and I want to thank you for what you did."

"You don't need to, Sunshine."

Sunshine made an impatient noise at the other end of the line. "Laine, I don't want you to ever do that for anyone again. Your own life is more important to you than anything else."

Laine could feel her arm starting to hurt, and she took a seat on the chair, where her clothes were. "Sunshine, I had to help you, and to tell you the truth, I wanted to know who my father was, and that was another reason why I went with Camulus." She paused. "But I do want to know what happened that night. Are you and Talon together?"

Sunshine gave a small laugh, and it was a sound pure joy. "Yes. He's in the other room, sleeping. Laine, I can be with him! I love him."

Laine's heart soared at the happiness in her friend's voice, but her own hurt weighed down her soul. "But I'm getting ahead of myself," Sunshine continued. "That night, after Zarek brought me there, Camulus made it seem like he had Talon's soul, and that was the reason he was able to curse him: everyone Talon got close to would die. I agreed that I would trade my soul for his, but I didn't know that in order for him to take my soul, he would have to kill me. He blasted me, and that was when Zarek got me out of there."

Sunshine then related the rest of the story to her, telling her about how Talon had absorbed her wound into his body, and how Acheron had called Artemis down to give Talon's soul to him. The Morrigan, a Celtic goddess, had then come, but she was actually Sunshine's grandmother, and Sunshine and Talon were blessed with immortal life.

Laine had to breathe when Sunshine finally finished telling the story. "So, you're telling me that the agreement between Camulus and the Morrigan was that you would be his wife's soul reincarnated, born to mortal parents?"

"Yes," Sunshine answered. "But he didn't specify that my grandparents had to be mortal, and so the Morrigan is my grandmother. Everyone in her bloodline is under her protection, and we all have immortality."

"That's…" Laine searched her head for a word, but could come up with, "cool." She thought of Sunshine and Talon being together, and remembered what Amanda had to do to get Kyrian's soul. It must mean that Sunshine had to be Talon's true love, and it was already established that they were soul mates. Her heart ached for that happiness. "I'm happy for you, Sunshine."

"Thank you," her friend replied. "Will you do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"Watch over Zarek. He has a good heart, but he doesn't know how to overcome his pain," Sunshine said. Her friend was surprisingly astute about a man she had presumably only known for a few hours. "Just yesterday, he bought one of my bowls."

Laine felt warmth creeping over her body. "He likes you."

"Yes," Sunshine said. "He likes New Orleans." There was a pause. "Do you need anything, Lainey?"

Laine couldn't help but smile. "An invitation to your wedding?"

Sunshine laughed. "You're going to be a bridesmaid, you can be sure."

* * *

After Carson confirmed that she was going to be fine, Laine quickly got dressed and accepted the ointment Carson gave her for the burn before Nicolette could yell at her. She knew how much trouble she was going to be in if Maman found her, and she didn't need another headache. At least the situation with Talon and Sunshine was over. Now all she had to do was find her father and somehow thank Zarek for getting her back to Sanctuary in one piece without sounding too desperate so that he didn't think she actually wanted him, when in fact she did. It was the longest run-on sentence she ever said in her head.

And on top of that, she wanted to know what the deal was with Ash and his brother, Styxx, and why they were on opposite teams. But the ways of the gods were strange, and she didn't suspect that it was her business to really know everything between Ash and his family.

Then there was the question of finding someone to "get laid" with, or at least someone suitable who would lie for her, within the week, or face Tabitha, who was sure to put her in something scandalous for her annual lingerie show. At least she didn't have to do those things in that order

Thinking this, she felt the last one was the easiest, and as she drove toward Zarek's house on Dauphin Street, she dialed Nick's number. He answered on the second ring.

"Laine? Are you ok?"

The concern in Nick's voice worried her. Did everyone already know she had been hurt? "I'm fine," she answered.

But before she could continue, he asked, "What the hell happened to you? Acheron and Talon won't tell me anything, and I think hell's going to freeze over before I get anything out of Zarek. Speaking of Zarek, I gotta tell you something really important about him. Did you know that there's—"

Nick's voice was starting to grate on her nerves. "Look, I'll tell you later," she interrupted. "But right now, I just want to let you know that we need to meet, preferably some time tonight."

The man sighed on the other end of the line. "I can't. I have Squire duty. Just tell me over the phone. But I really have to tell you—"

Laine ground her teeth, not wishing to reveal that she wasn't a Squire anymore just right now. "The details are a little personal, and I don't have time for whatever you need to tell me!"

"I think you'll want to know—"

The woman pursed her lips. "Nick, I need you to pretend like you slept with me."

There was a pause.

"Ok…" Nick's voice dragged out the word, making Laine feel painfully awkward. "I'm not even going to ask why. But seriously, look, you need to stay away from Zarek."

Laine furrowed her brow. "Why?" She suddenly felt bad for interrupting the man. His tone was incredibly serious, and she had never heard Nick this serious before.

"I got a call yesterday from the Council asking me to activate my Blood-Rite status," he answered.

"What? Against who?"

"Zarek."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17

* * *

**

Ash was sitting gloomily on the floor in Artemis's temple in Mt. Olympus. He had his hands on his knees, and he was scowling at the red-haired goddess, who seemed to float around the room in her peplos. The piece of garment exposed more of her body than it covered, and her voluptuous body was one that many men would die for, but not him. He knew who the real Artemis was, and he only tolerated her because he had to.

How he hated his relationship with her: it was one that hinged on a balance of power. He knew how to keep her calm and rational… most of the time, but he also had to turn to her for food, the one source of food that kept him human. If she didn't allow him to feed, he would turn animalistic and unleash all hell on earth.

He was now on Olympus because he had bargained two weeks with Artemis for Talon's soul. His powers were restricted, and he was locked in her temple, completely under her power. But he still had to use whatever bargaining chips he had left to save Zarek from her wrath.

"I want you to call off Thanatos," he said, looking up at the goddess.

She laughed as she sat on the ivory-colored throne. It seemed like an overstuffed couch to him, but he knew that Artemis loved comfort above all things. She then trailed a hot glance at him, and opened the top of her garment, exposing both breasts to him. Uninterested, he continued to look at her face, but she reached out and played with his long, blond hair.

He fought against the urge to cringe. He hated people touching his hair, but she never seemed to remember anything about anyone else. She lived in a world consumed by herself.

"You're still weak, Acheron," she said, her voice low and husky, as if trying to seduce him. She should have known that it never worked. "And in no position to make demands on me. Besides, your two weeks with me have only begun. Where is the subjugation you promised?"

He growled and stood to his full height, towering over the goddess. He glared at her, fixing his stare until she had to look away, uncomfortable at his intense eyes. She snuffed her nose, annoyed at his apparent change in mood. "Call off your pet, Artie," he said warningly. "I mean it. I told you long ago that there was no need for a Thanatos to stalk my Hunters and I'm tired of this game you play. I want him caged."

She sniffed haughtily. "No. Zarek is to die. End of symphony. The moment his picture became the nightly news event while he was killing Daimons, he exposed all the Dark-Hunters to danger. We can't afford to let the human authorities ever learn about them. If they ever find Zarek—"

"Who's going to find him? He's going to be locked in the middle of nowhere per your cruelty."

Artemis pouted, looking like a petulant two-year-old. "I didn't put him there. _You _did. I wanted him killed and you refused. It's all _your_ fault he's banished in Alaska so don't blame _me_."

Ash wanted to throw up his hands. He usually liked children, but this overgrown red-headed toddler in front of him was making him want to strangle something. "I'm not about to put a man to death because you and your siblings were playing with his life."

If anything, Ash understood Zarek. He, too, had been kicked around all his life, damned to a fate because of the will of the gods and the cruelty of the men around him. There was only so many times a man could be thrown down before he revolted with madness. Zarek had gone mad years ago, and Acheron himself had been through the same phase, wanting to lash out at anyone and anything for his own hurt and frustration.

All Zarek knew, right now, was pain. Ash wanted a different fate for him, but the gods and Zarek himself had not been cooperating.

"Why do you care so much, Acheron? I'm beginning to feel jealous of this Dark-Hunter and the _love_ you have for him." She draped one plump arm over his neck, but he pushed her away. He hated how she always made his concern for his men sound obscene. But he could understand why: she only knew desire, never compassion.

He wasn't going to let Zarek die. Not everything that had happened had been Zarek's fault. Dionysus had set up the incident with the human cops in that alleyway so that Zarek would be exposed to the humans and cause Artemis to call a hunt for the man's life.

As they spoke, the Blood-Rites were probably already on their way to the Dark-Hunter's house on Dauphin Street, per order of Artemis. If Thanatos or one of the Squires killed him, Zarek would become a Shade, and he didn't deserve that kind of painful existence.

At that thought, he manifested clothes for himself and head for the door of the temple.

"Where do you think you're going?" Artemis asked huffily.

"To find Themis and undo what you've started," he said angrily.

"Uh uh," the goddess said and manifested herself in front of him, blocking his way to the door. "You're not going anywhere."

"Then call off your dog."

"No way."

"Fine." Ash extended his arm to expose the dragon tattoo that ran from his shoulder down to his forearm. "Simi, take human form."

Immediately, the dragon lifted off of his skin and manifested itself into a tiny demon woman, no more than three feet tall. She hovered by his shoulder like a giant bird, with long blond hair and long horns on her head.

"No!" the goddess cried. She hated the Charontes.

"Whatcha want, _akri_?" Simi asked Ash, using the Atlantean word for lord and master.

"Kill Thanatos."

Simi flashed her fangs, giggling uncontrollable. She smirked and formed a bottle of barbecue sauce in her hands as she did a small flip in the air in glee. She then promptly blew a raspberry at Artmeis. "Oh goodie! I get to make the redheaded goddess mad!"

The goddess's eyes flashed fire. "You can't do this. You wouldn't let Simi out with him anyway. He has an Apollite protecting him."

"Laine? She's not a Squire anymore."

"Yeah, but she's still with him." She was fuming at the thought of Acheron protecting his men against her will, but suddenly, the instance of fear was replaced by understanding and smugness. "Fine. Kill him. You get to deal with the consequences."

Simi looked confused at her sudden composure, and Acheron glared at her. "What do you mean?"

She flipped her hair in triumph before summoning a large handheld mirror to her hand. The mirror flashed and the image of the new Thanatos. A tall blonde man with piercing blue eyes faced them, his expression full of anger and hate. Acheron could only stare, stunned.

"The old Thanatos went mad long ago, and I've picked a new one. He's got powers Zarek can't even imagine, and I've endowed him with a few more of my own. You still want to kill him?"

Artemis looked up and gulped. Ash's eyes were smoldering as he summoned Simi back to his arm. "I can't kill him and you know why, Artie," he said, his voice dangerously even. "But I'm going to stop you nonetheless."

* * *

Zarek looked around at the house. It was the exact way it had looked when he had first moved in: everything he brought was now packed away in his giant duffle bag. Since Mardi Gras was over, he was no longer needed and would be flying out right before dawn. Back to that hellhole in Alaska.

He went to the fridge and took out a burger to heat up, some of the food that Laine had brought him. Hell, he only needed to feed himself for the night, and Acheron had specifically told him to stay inside. Not that he followed orders anymore: he didn't feel like seeing people anyway.

Laine…

The thought came unexpectedly, and he growled at the thought of her. At the taste of her lips on his, at the feeling of her against his skin.

Well, even if she hadn't just seen him as an easy lay, he could never be with her. He was a dead man walking. If Artemis didn't kill him, Dionysus sure would. He had betrayed the wine god, and for that, he would never forgive him. For another Dark-Hunter's happiness, for Sunshine's happiness, he had crossed the Greek god, who was sure to make him suffer. Wasn't that just dandy?

Why the fuck had he done it? Because he liked pissing people off. And perhaps death would be a better place that this stupid and painful existence.

The doorbell rang.

He threw out his exhausted mind to sense who it was, but only felt an empty hole where the person should have been. There were only a few people who could block their minds from him and fewer that had the decency to knock on his door instead of barging in on him with weapons and godbolts. It was either Acheron or Laine at the door, and at the moment, he didn't feel like talking to either of them.

A few seconds later, there was a loud knocking on his door. He ignored it and continued to sit on the couch, looking at the bottle of vodka before him. It was halfway gone, but he could feel none of its effects. Dark-Hunters couldn't get drunk.

"Zarek, I know you're in there, and if you don't open the door, I'm coming in whether you like it or not!" Laine's voice sounded shrilly from outside his door. He should have been annoyed, but for some reason, his heart lifted. Her voice soothed him, and it was strange, but he felt a kind of comradeship with the woman.

The lock clicked as Laine used her telekinesis, and the door swung open, revealing her figure and the dim light from the moon outside. Slowly, she stepped into the dark, and he realized, again, that she could not see. Using his mind, he turned on the small lamp that was next to him.

She turned at the light, and he saw in her eyes a wild panic.

"You here to take me to Mike, little girl?" he asked, trying not to acknowledge it.

Laine hurriedly closed the door behind her but wrinkled her nose when she smelled the vodka. It was the cutest thing he had ever seen. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her until the end of the world. Too bad he had never held anyone before, and he hated being touched.

"No," she said, her voice thin. She paused to study him, and he knew that she had noticed that he had shaved off his beard. "It's a good thing you're already packed. We need to get you out of here, Zarek." She slashed the air in front of her with her hands, telling him to keep quiet. "Artemis has called for your head because you exposed yourself to humans when you were on the evening news. The Blood-Rites are probably already on their way."

The Dark-Hunter narrowed his eyes and a wry smile appeared on his face. "So this is how Artemis and Dionysus are getting back at me? They're not even going to face me directly. The cowards."

He took another drink of the vodka and leaned back against the couch. "A couple of Squires I can take."

"Zarek, you don't understand. They know secrets about how to kill Dark-Hunters. You guys have some type of 'off' button that they know about. You can't just sit here." She approached him, wanting to reach out to him, to hold this man who was in so much pain that he was willing to betray them all just to end his existence. It was selfish, yes, but at the same time, it was heart wrenching.

But as soon as her hand touched him, he hissed and pulled away. As he moved, Laine saw the fingers of his right hand glint. He was wearing his silver claws. "Don't pretend with me again, princess. I don't need anyone, least of all you." Laine said nothing. "You're a Squire. Why did you tell me they're coming after me?"

She took a deep breath. "I care about you," she said quietly. "And I'm not a Squire anymore."

Zarek sat up, glaring at her. "Why?"

She ground her teeth. "Can we talk about this later, please? People who want to kill you can barge in at any time right—"

A heavy knocking came at Zarek's door. Both whirled around to face the door.

Laine threw out her mind and felt a man on the other side. No… not a man. Another Dark-Hunter. Zarek's jumped to his feet, and Laine almost screamed at his sudden movement. Before she could understand what was going on, he was at the door. There was no time to hesitate. She went right behind him.

The door opened to reveal a tall man, only an inch shorter than Zarek. He had long brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, and he was wearing a duster. He possessed that deadly aura that most Dark-Hunters had, and he glanced at Zarek before sharply turning his gaze to Laine.

She took in her breath sharply, not recognizing the Hunter, but realized that Zarek had stiffened.

The Hunter looked back at Zarek. "Z," he said, his Southern accent thick. "Me and you need to talk." Laine furrowed her brow. It seemed that this man, who seemed to have stepped straight out of the wild west, knew Zarek pretty well.

"Talk about what?" Zarek returned, his voice low and dangerous.

"I think you know why I'm here, Z," the cowboy returned. He turned to Laine. "I think you need to move out of the way, ma'am."

If Zarek didn't know, Laine knew plain enough. They had moved another Dark-Hunter in, someone who somehow knew Zarek and his ways, to plan and kill him. Perhaps the two were even friends, and this was a way to lure him out.

"No!" Laine cried, just as Zarek bared his fangs and said, "Forget it, Jess."

Suddenly, Zarek shoved the cowboy hard enough to move him out of the way, and with a firm grip on Laine's forearm, ran out the door. Laine was not in bad shape, but she could not keep up with Zarek's long legs, and dragged the Dark-Hunter back.

It was probably why Jess suddenly caught up to them in their front yard, grabbing Zarek by the shoulders. Zarek bared his fangs, but Jess didn't seem to notice. "Let go of the woman," he said evenly.

Zarek answered by punching the other Hunter hard in the stomach. Jess staggered back, and Zarek fell to his knees, feeling his own blow by tenfold. Laine gave a cry, and reached down to help Zarek, but in an instant, he was up on his feet again.

Looking up, Laine saw that Mike and three Squires that she didn't recognize were coming up the street, obviously armed to take out the Dark-Hunter. "Mike?" she cried. "What the hell is going on?"

"Lainey?" Mike said in surprise. She hadn't wanted anyone to know that she was at Zarek's, and had parked her car behind his house. It was a wise decision, as now, she was catching many of the Blood-Rites unexpected. Had they known she was here, they would have waited for her to leave before going for Zarek on his own. "What are you doing here?"

"Stopping you from killing an innocent man!" she answered.

"Leave him to me!" Jess called from behind her.

"Oh, like hell!" she cried and used her mind to pick up the Dark-Hunter and slam him hard onto the pavement. He cursed and picked himself up, his face glowering. He would have rushed her if Zarek hadn't planted himself in front of him. They were now positioned so that the Squires were on one side, and Jess was on the other, with Zarek and Laine in the middle of the fray.

She turned back to Mike. "You can't do this here. There are people in all these houses."

Mike looked at her grimly. "Lainey, get away from him. He's dangerous, and we've evacuated his neighbors. He almost killed four cops, and he could kill you too."

Laine shook her head furiously, not believing what was happening. The intolerance of other people she could take, but she knew Mike, and she did not want to stand at opposite ends of this battle with him. One of the other Squires, a short, good-looking Asian man, seemed to recognize her. "You're Laine?" He turned urgently to the others around him. "Ash informed the Squire Council to fire her, and he wouldn't give any reasons. My guess is because she's in league with the psychotic one."

The other two Squires, a red-haired man and a blonde woman, immediately narrowed their eyes at her, but Mike shook his head fervidly. "No way. Laine's just confused." He turned back to the woman, who was standing firmly in front of Zarek so that they couldn't fire their weapons on him without hitting her too. "Lainey, get over here."

She shook her head. "I can't. What he did was an accident!" She didn't know the full story, but she was sure Zarek wouldn't hurt policemen just because. Sunshine trusted him. And once Zarek had found out that the gods wanted to hurt Sunshine, he had tried to save her, angering the gods. "He's innocent until we prove that he's guilty."

Zarek stared in amazement as Laine defended him. She didn't even know the whole story, and yet, she was willing to believe in his innocence. It was the first time anyone had ever done so, and he wasn't sure how to respond. He didn't want to appear weak, letting someone else defend him, and yet, there was another, alien feeling inside of him that he didn't altogether dislike.

But the man would not listen to Laine. "Artemis has already issued a warrant on his life. If you oppose us, you oppose her as well."

Footsteps sounded, and Laine and Zarek turned, only to find more Squires coming for them. They were now trapped in the middle of a triangle, unable to get out. Laine's heart pounded within her chest as she tried to figure out how she would get Zarek and herself out of this without hurting the Squires.

_Laine_? A voice sounded inside her head.

She thought at first that she really was going insane, and that her head was talking back to her. Then she realized that voice sounded curiously like Zarek's.

_Zarek?_ She asked silently. _Is that you?_

_No. It's the Jolly Green Giant. _Even in her mind, Zarek sounded pissed off. _When I give the signal, run. _

She didn't have time to ask what the signal was before Zarek threw out his hand used his powers to knock all the Squires off of their feet. He then dodged Jess, grabbed her hand, and began to run down the block in zig-zags.

They didn't make it far before the bullets began whistling through the air. Laine cursed and threw up a mental shield around the two of them, but not before Zarek's back was riddled with ammunition. They were only aiming for him. He hissed and staggered forward.

"Zarek!"

He didn't seem to hear her, but kept hold of her hand and continued to run. He didn't know why he was holding onto Laine, but her small, warm palm kept him cool and collected. By some strange stroke of luck, she was on his side, and he suddenly felt exhilarated. Even the bullets in his back didn't bother him as much. Until he ran around the corner and something hard hit his middle.

Pain flew through him as he was flipped over, and fell on the pavement, his head pounding and his lungs aching from lack of air. Far away, he heard Laine calling, but he couldn't hear what she was saying. He could only see the dark shadow that was standing in front of him.

The man's eyes were cold, and he stood at an ungodly height with pale blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He smiled cruelly, revealing his sharp fangs.

"What the fuck are you?" Zarek asked through clenched teeth.

"I am Thanatos, Dark-Hunter," he said. It was the Greek word meaning "death." "And I'm here to kill you." He then grabbed him by his shirtfront and threw him against the wall of the nearest house.

Zarek hit the wall hard and slid down, nearly fainting from the pain. He wanted to crawl away, but he stopped himself. "I won't die like this again," he muttered to himself. He had already done so once, on his belly, like some animal. But he wouldn't do so again, even if he was a worthless slave.

Roaring, he got to his feet to face Thanatos, only to find Laine on the ground, clutching at her abdomen where the beast had hit her. He gave another animalistic cry before turning on Thanatos, the pain within him multiplying tenfold. This monster could hit him, sure. He could take the pain. But Laine was innocent and did not deserve this punishment.

"Ah, backbone," the creature said with a smile on his face. "How I love it. But not as much as I love sucking the marrow from it."

But Zarek had had enough. He caught Thanatos's arm as he reached for him. "You know what I love?" He snapped his arm as if it were a toothpick and seized the creature by his neck. "The sound of a Daimon breathing his last."

But the creature only laughed as his arm healed instantly. "You can't kill me, Dark-Hunter. I'm even more immortal than you are."

Zarek felt his breath come short. "What are you?" Zarek asked.

"I told you. I am Death and no one defeats or escapes Death."

Oh, shit. He was screwed now.

But he was far from defeated. Death might take him, but the bastard was going to have to work for it.

"You know," Zarek said, falling into the surreal calmness that had allowed him as a whipping boy to suffer through untold beatings. "I'll bet most people shit their pants in terror when you hand them that line. But you know what, Mr. I-want-to-be-scary-and-am-failing-miserably? I'm not a person. I'm a Dark-Hunter and in the grand scheme of things you don't mean shit to me." He concentrated all of his powers into his hand, then delivered a powerful blow straight to Thanatos's solar plexus. The creature stumbled back.

"Now I can sit here and play with you." He delivered another staggering blow to Thanatos. "But I'd rather just put you out of both our miseries."

Before he could strike again, a shotgun blast hit him square in the back. Zarek felt the shrapnel ripping through his body, narrowly missing his heart.

Police sirens sounded in the distance.

Thanatos grabbed him by his throat and lifted him up until he was forced to stand on his tiptoes. "Better yet, why don't I just put you out of yours?"

Struggling to breathe, Zarek smiled grimly as he felt a trail of blood run out from the corner of his lips.

The metallic taste of it suffused his mouth. He was hurt, but not daunted.

Smiling snidely at the Daimon, he kneed the bastard in the jewels.

The Daimon crumpled.

Zarek got up and tried to run, but fell. Laine was still on the ground, and he crawled toward her, trying to pick her up so that he could get her out of there as well. But it was useless. The pain made his eyesight blurry and the shotgun blow was starting to hurt more and more. He didn't know how he was still alive. In all the beatings as a child, he had never hurt this up. He didn't know what to do. If he didn't get Laine out of here, the monster would kill her too. They obviously thought she was betraying the Squires and Dark-Hunters, and she couldn't live.

He crawled toward her three more feet, but then he fell. His body would not cooperate anymore. He saw before him the shadow, and knew that Thanatos was behind him again. He had to save Laine. He could die, but she couldn't. Not for something she didn't do. All she wanted was to protect him, but no one could protect him from the wrath of the gods. He tried to get up again, but fell, and the darkness claimed him.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18

* * *

**

Laine wasn't sure what had happened. They had rounded the corner, and suddenly, she felt a blow to her stomach that was so hard that she let go of Zarek and fell back onto the pavement, clutching her abdomen. She couldn't catch her breath and writhed on the ground at the pain that was spreading through her ribcage. Nausea hit her, and she gagged.

Blood rushed through her ears so that she could not hear anything other than her own low moans. She had been hit harder before by Daimons, but at least then, her body had been gracious enough to faint. This time, she was left at the edge of consciousness, gasping for air.

When she was finally able to move a little, she noticed a dark shadow standing over her. "What do we have here?" an evil, cold voice spoke from above.

She slowly uncurled herself from her fetal position and looked up. A tall man was standing above her, but she could not yet make out his features because her eyes were blurry with tears. She rolled a little ways on the ground, only to find Zarek lying next to her, covered in blood.

Laine gave a small cry, and suddenly, was lifted from the ground by her throat.

She found herself staring into the eyes of a familiar face, and a strange word rolled off her tongue as she opened her mouth in amazement.

"Dad?"

Damien Theotocopulous looked just as stunned to see her as she felt. "Laine?" He set her down, his voice cracking. "What are you doing here?"

The woman wobbled on her feet when he let her go. Her head spun with questions, not understanding how she was again meeting her father here, on Dauphin Street, or why he had made no effort to contact her before.

But then, Zarek let out a groan, and all other thoughts flew from her mind. She ignored her father's question and scrambled to where the Dark-Hunter lay. Seeing him, she gave a cry of anguish. He was worse than she thought. Blood was trickling from his lips and his back was riddled with bullets and shrapnel. Someone had hit him with a shotgun, and it was a wonder he hadn't been pierced through the heart. Her own heart ached, and rage boiled through her, making her want to kill whoever had done this to him.

It wasn't fair. Zarek hadn't done anything to deserve this, and yet, it seemed as if the world was set against him.

She looked up, her eyes full of danger, at the father that she had only known for a day. "Did you do this to him?" Her voice was even, but it spoke the dread that she wanted to bestow on Zarek's attacker.

Her father stared back at her, unblinking. "Yes." Laine drew in a sharp breath, her fists clenching at her sides. Her head spun, not understanding what was happening.

"Why?" she cried, her eyes filling with tears.

Damien's face remained stoney. "Artemis sent me to kill this Dark-Hunter. He is a danger to everyone and must be eliminated."

It was all she could do not to sob. "Sent? What do you mean sent?"

"Artemis has made me Thanatos. Death. I am the Dayslayer," he said slowly.

The woman's eyes widened. The Dayslayer was an ancient Apollite and Daimon myth. He was supposed to come and walk among them in daylight when the Apollites least expected it. He was also the bane of the Dark-Hunters.

And of all people, Artemis had chose Damien Theotocopolous, her father. Any other time, she would be on the side of the Dark-Hunters. But Artemis seemed to know just where to strike to hurt her the most. The red-headed goddess really was a bitch, setting up her world so that she could not be whole, but torn between the lives of the Dark-Hunters, whom she served and befriended, and her people.

Laine wanted to laugh at the bitter irony in her life. Here she was, trying to save both her father and Zarek from the gods, and the gods had turned the two against each other. She would have to choose, because she couldn't pick both.

Slowly, she stood, and Thanatos perceived a change in her face. She was solemn, her eyes unmoving. "Artemis picked you to murder Dark-Hunters. When did she do this?"

Her father looked back at her, his eyes narrowed. "Only yesterday. She came to me in a dream and told me that she had chosen me from the ranks of the Daimons because I was powerful, and because I hate the Dark-Hunters." He paused and snarled when his glance came to the body of Zarek behind his daughter. Laine realized that the reason he had left in the small hours of the night at Sanctuary was because of this duty. Artemis had already chosen then.

This man that stood before her was no longer Damien Theotocopolous, her father, but Thanatos, Death to the Dark-Hunters and anyone who stood in his way. He looked at her, a cold gleam in his eyes. "Do you know what it's like to have to constantly live in fear for your friends and family because of them? They don't bother to know who we are. They kill indiscriminately, whether the Daimons be good or no. I've suffered too many deaths of friends to let them live. And this one. He is the worst of them all."

Laine didn't move, even when Thanatos made a sign as if to advance. "Don't come any closer," she said, her heart beating furiously. How she wanted to reach out and hold her father! But he was no longer just her father: he had a duty, and she could see now that this duty was more meaningful to him than anything else.

She wished that they weren't on opposing sides of this battle, but it was not meant to be. The Fates had decided, and she would have to choose. And even as she stood in front of the battered Hunter, she knew what she would have to do. "If you want to kill Zarek, you will have to go through me first." She paused, then added, "Father."

Fire blazed in his eyes. "You are being deluded by the Dark-Hunters you work for!" he cried. "The man behind you is a ruthless killer. He massacred an entire village, not caring that it was full of Apollites."

That was a lie. It had to be. Zarek would never murder an entire village. She had seen goodness in him, and though he was in pain, he would never inflict it on others.

Laine shook her head. She needed to stand firm and believe in the Hunter. "You're mistaken," she said. "Zarek wouldn't do that. The gods are set against him because he betrayed them to save an innocent woman, and they are lying to you."

"Move out of the way, Laine."

"No. If you want to kill him, you'll have to kill me too."

He made a move as if to strike her, but his hand fell to his side.

"You look so much like your mother," he whispered, and Laine saw that his face looked hollow. His eyes had changed from those of a ruthless killer to the eyes that she had seen the night before. They were compassionate and searching, wanting to know why he had lost everything in his life. And then there was exhilaration: he had discovered that he had a daughter; there was still someone of his family alive.

A single tear rolled down his cheek, and Laine knew that he was not living in the present, but remembering something from his past. Then, he closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, as if fighting a battle within himself. "Take the Dark-Hunter and run," he said, his voice quivering. His entire body was shaking from the effort to keep himself still. "Take him so I don't find him, because if I see him again, I _will_ kill him."

She didn't have to be told twice.

With her mind, she picked Zarek up so that he was floating at waist height, and ran to her car.

Without hesitation, she unlocked the doors and shoved Zarek into the backseat, still unconscious and bloody. Then, turning the key in the ignition, she sped down the street at a pace that only Nick could match.

She drove for a good quarter of an hour before she could slow down her heartbeat and actually think about what was happening. Laine realized that she was driving to Sanctuary, to the place she called home. Even in the peril she was in, and even though she no longer lived there, it would always be her home.

But she couldn't bring Zarek there. _Maman_ was a powerful force, but even she couldn't hold back the wrath of Thanatos. The compassion that she saw in his eyes were momentary, and she could not count on him to show it again. He didn't care about his own life or death: his only mission would be to serve Artemis, to find Zarek and kill him against all other costs.

Thinking this, she deviated from her set course.

The only place she could take him where no one else would be hurt would be her apartment. That was hers, exclusively, and Thanatos didn't know about it just yet. It would buy them some time, but she knew she couldn't hide forever from Artemis.

She needed protection.

Laine picked up her phone from her purse on the passenger seat and dialed Acheron's number. It went straight to voicemail.

She let out a string of curses that only Etienne could have matched. Of all the damn times to not pick up his phone, this was the most ridiculous. Ash was the only person she knew that could bargain with Artemis.

Then who else?

Tabitha came to mind, and Laine almost smiled at the thought of her brave and fearless friend. She would definitely know what to do in a case like this. But she couldn't call her. None of her human friends deserved to be dragged into this.

The only other people were Nick and the Dark-Hunters. And perhaps Vane and Fang. But Nick was a Blood-Rite, and though he wasn't at the hunt, and had warned her about the price on Zarek's head, he would have an obligation to turn them in to keep his job. It was a chance she wasn't willing to take.

The wolves.

But Vane and Fang didn't trust her. They were there when she found out about her father, and probably thought her to be allied with the Daimons. Besides, they hadn't seemed to get along too well with the rest of their pack when she had seen them at the Corner Café. They already had their own trouble, and it wasn't worth it to rouse them.

Sunshine?

No. She couldn't ruin her and Talon's time together. They had been through too much, and they deserved peace.

Amanda floated to her mind, but she realized that she couldn't risk any harm to her family. Besides, she knew that if Kyrian and Zarek ever got to know each other, Valerius would be one dead man.

Valerius…

It was the last person she would want near Zarek. Laine knew that the two of them hated each others, and perhaps Valerius would be happy to see Zarek die at the hands of Thanatos. But there was no one else to turn to. And though she was never like the Roman Dark-Hunter, something about him always told her that he wasn't as terrible and obnoxious as he wanted everyone to believe.

Biting her lip, she dialed his number on her phone, but continued her course to her apartment in case he refused to help. She wasn't counting on his support.

"Hello?"

Even in a single word, Laine could tell that Valerious wasn't happy. "Valerius, it's Laine," she said hurriedly.

The Hunter grunted on the other line. "I have you as a contact. Do not waste my time with idle words, little girl. I have bigger issues than you to deal with."

She ground her teeth in frustration at his obvious disdain for her, but reminded herself that she needed his help and had to stay calm. "I need your help," she said slowly. "Artemis has sent out a death warrant for Zarek."

There was silence on the other end. Then, "That is not news to me."

Why was she calling this man? Her grip tightened on the steering wheel, and she longed to hang up before the Roman irritated her any more. "Squires have already come for him, and Artemis has set loose Thanatos," she said, her teeth clenched. "Zarek is with me and he's badly hurt."

There was another silence. "Zarek is with you?" It was the first sign of emotion from the Dark-Hunter, and he sounded urgent, but relieved. "What the hell are you going to do to him?"

Laine's eyes widened. "Do to him? Nothing. Everything has already been done to him! He's been shot at and beaten to a pulp. Will you help me or not?"

Valerius breathed out hard. "Bring him to my house."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19

* * *

**

Laine arrived at Valerius's house in less than ten minutes. Though it was dark, Valerius's car was in the driveway. It meant that he had come home and neglected his duties so that he could be there to meet them.

She turned off her lights two blocks away from his house and crept along the street, barely making a sound with her car.

Doubt continued to course through her veins. What if he was here for the mere pleasure of seeing Zarek in pain? He hated him enough. He couldn't kill him, but he could order others to. He could have told the Squires about their plans immediately after she called him. They could be waiting for them.

Her fear made her get out of her vehicle around the corner and walk the rest of the way, leaving Zarek in her car just in case she needed to make a quick getaway.

She arrived outside of Valerius's mansion and pressed the button on the intercom to buzz inside. Underneath her right pant leg, she had a small dagger that she carried with her. She usually didn't carry any more weapons, but being prepared for the worst, she had taken a small arsenal with her when she left Sanctuary that day.

She had a couple of Uzis in her trunk with enough ammo to last her until Judgment Day. Underneath that, she also had a couple of sniper rifles in case they needed them. She would have gone back to her apartment and taken the bazooka that she acquired from Lisa, the ex-Squire who owned a doll shop in the French Quarter, but it was too large to fit in her small car. On her at the moment, she had two pistols in shoulder holsters and another one at her hip. And just in case, she had a stake in one hand.

"Who is it?" Valerius's voice came over the intercom.

"It's Laine," she said quietly, keeping her voice down.

The gates slid open, and she walked in, looking around her in the dark gardens, expecting at any moment for Squires to jump out at her.

None did, and she made it safely to the front door, where she again rang the doorbell.

In a moment, Valerius answered, opening the door.

Immediately, she pulled the pistol from her hip and held the stake high, aimed at the Dark-Hunter's heart. Startled, he jumped back and snarled, baring his fangs.

"Who else is with you?" she asked, her eyes hard, staring him down.

He sneered at her, his fangs still showing. "You come here to attack me in my own house?" he said, his voice cold and even. "Maybe the Council had a reason for firing you."

Laine's breath caught in her throat. She thought that her job termination was being kept a secret, but apparently, after Mike and the others caught her with Zarek, her cover was blown. Maybe every Dark-Hunter had been warned about the two of them. Perhaps everyone had been told not to help them, to turn them in to the Blood Rites if they saw them.

"I don't want to hurt you, Valerius," she said evenly. "I just need to know that I can trust you, and that you're the only one in that house. No Otto, no other Squires."

The Hunter looked at her hard, his eyes glinting. Then he nodded once, and opened the door wider. "You can trust me Laine. There is no one else here. I do not wish to bring harm to Zarek."

She didn't lower the gun or the stake. "How do I know I can trust you? You hate his guts. Last time I saw the two of you, you were goading him to hurt you so that he would hurt himself. You haven't called anyone? Told anyone we were coming?"

The Roman's face remained stony. "Come inside, and I can show you proof that Zarek will be safe here."

She hesitated, but realized that she couldn't stay outside on his porch all night. Zarek needed a place to stay, and if Valerius was telling the truth, his mansion would be much safer than her car. Finally, she nodded and put the gun back on her hip. However, she kept the stake in hand. Valerius gave it one last look before turning to let her into her house – a movement that showed he trusted her.

She followed him into the large foyer and turned with him to enter the living room.

The place was immense and immaculately decorated with original artwork. The furniture alone probably cost a small fortune, and Laine felt incredibly ill at ease with the wealth about her. She had thought buying all new furniture at Ikea for her apartment was a splurge, but this was just ridiculous.

Valerius walked past it as if it meant nothing. Clearly, he had been a Roman general and expected such comforts in life. But a second look around the place, and she saw that nothing was too ostentatious or an obvious display of wealth. The rugs were clean and comfortable, soft to the touch, and the couches were dark brown, of good quality, plush but still able to withstand constant use.

Antiques lined the walls, and Laine was sure that they were true Roman statues that Valerius had collected over the years. This house was not a way to show that Valerius had money, but just how he lived. He wished to recreate what he had in Rome: he was a man of good taste, and he expected no less in his home.

The Dark-Hunter stepped to the large fireplace that dominated the room and stopped, turning back to Laine. He stood next to a bust of a man; the bust was old, but perfectly preserved. Looking at it, she gasped. Not only did the bust show a striking resemblance with Valerius, it also reminded her of another.

The tall, Aquiline nose, the determined brow, and the jutting chin that showed defiance even in stone. Even the curls were like the ones she knew. She would not have seen the resemblance before, but now that he had shaved…

Placed before her was a perfect rendition of Zarek's handsome face.

"That's my father," Valerius said evenly. "Zarek's father."

* * *

Half an hour later, the two of them had gotten Zarek out of her car and situated in one of the many rooms upstairs. Laine was incredibly grateful that Valerius hadn't said a word about what a mess Zarek was, even when he left a bloody trail on the expensive-looking Oriental rug that ran up the stairs.

Seeing that the woman looked as if she hadn't eaten or slept in days, Valerius sent her to the kitchen. Though the cook had already gone home, he had said she was welcome to anything that was there. She followed his directions to get there and found masses of food in his refrigerator and pantry, both of which were the size of walk-in closets.

But thinking back to Zarek, she found she couldn't eat anything.

Instead, she sat at the counter, thinking about Zarek and Valerius. The latter was currently in the room with Zarek, doing his best to doctor the other Dark-Hunter's wounds. It was a great sacrifice to make, as every moment that he was near Zarek drained his own powers.

Which was why she couldn't let him stay here. Valerius was being very generous, but she couldn't continue to put his life and the lives of the humans he protected on the line because of this. But the walls around her seemed so safe that she wanted to get lost in these rooms and forget about the outside world.

Zarek could stay here until he was better, she thought to herself.

But she had to warn her family and friends. They would be the people Thanatos – she refused to think her father – would go after to get to her. The Peltiers, especially, needed to be warned. If Thanatos was as smart as Laine thought, he wouldn't attack them directly, but would provoke them. It would be a way to get their license revoked, and after that, it wouldn't take long for the Peltiers' enemies to come for them.

Laine shuddered at the thought.

Sanctuary couldn't close. It had been a haven for her since she was ten. But many times, she had seen _maman_ act ruthlessly toward those that she thought would get the place shut down. It was why people like Wren, the tigard that worked there, were always under supervision. _Maman _just didn't trust them with her life and the lives of her cubs. She would be ashamed to know that the one person she did trust and did allow into her family would be the one to bring the most harm.

Laine checked the time on her cell phone. It was almost eleven o'clock. Valerius had nearly been upstairs for two hours, tending on Zarek.

Or hurting him.

The thought set her heart racing, and grabbing her phone, she headed upstairs to find out what was going on. She was running so fast that she almost crashed into Valerius on the landing as he was heading down.

She gave a cry as she leaped back, but he put out a hand to steady her, looking strangely bemused at her quick breath and flushed cheeks.

"How is he?" she asked, trying to look as if nothing bothered her.

His black eyes glinted. "I did not kill him, if that's what you mean." She looked up at the Hunter, then at the ground. They both knew that she was thinking the worst, but she could not help it. Pushing past the general, she headed for Zarek's room. Valerius followed behind her.

"Whatever got to him almost did though," he said quietly. "There was a piece of shrapnel just inches from his heart. I managed to get it out, but he will be unconscious for at least three days."

Laine pushed open the door to find a well-furnished room with a four-poster bed with black sheets and the walls painted a somber maroon. The windows were barred shut so that no light could come in from the streets, and only a small lamp was lit next to the bed.

Zarek lay above the sheets, his shirt cut away and his upper body entirely bandaged. He was still wearing his black jeans, and his face was still purple from his beating, but he looked a lot better than he did two hours ago. Valerius had tended to him the best he could.

She bit her lip, suddenly feeling guilty, and turned to the other Dark-Hunter.

"I'm sorry I doubted you," she said, inclining her head. He continued to stare at her, but she could tell that he was becoming uncomfortable. His back stiffened, his legs came together, and his chin jutted out. It was a soldier's stance, one that she had seen him assume many, many times. It was his look of defiance. But she couldn't let him go without telling him what this meant to her.

"I want to thank you, Valerius," she continued. "I'm bringing a lot of danger to your house, and you haven't said a thing. Instead, you're helping a man that hates you." She paused and looked at him again. "We'll be out of here soon. And again, I'm sorry that I misjudged you."

His shoulders relaxed a little, and his lips bent up in a small smile. "You thought I was a self-centered Roman with a stick up my ass?"

It was strange to hear such profanity from him, when she had only known the cultured and well-mannered Valerius. This smiling man before her was one that she had never met before. "Well, one can only be called a plebian so many times," she said, her expression mirroring his.

It was his turn to incline his head. "I am afraid I have misjudged you as well," he said. But his expression furrowed. "Why are you helping him?"

Laine looked back at the man on the bed, and her heart ached for what he had been through. She wasn't one to stand by and see innocent people persecuted for what they had not done. But it wasn't the only reason she was standing by Zarek.

"I like him," she confessed. "He's been through terrible things, and he pushes everyone away from him, but there is something good in him." She looked up at Valerius, whose face was absolutely stony. "I've seen that goodness, and he doesn't deserve to live as a Shade for the rest of eternity."

Valerius wanted to tell her that she was a fool. That there was no goodness in Zarek, and the best that the ex-slave deserved was pity. But the look on her face kept his mouth shut. She gazed at him with a kind of longing, with a desire that surpassed anything Valerius had ever seen come from the girl. It was as if she wanted to help the tortured man, to make him whole again. It was almost enough to get Valerius to rethink what he felt for his brother – a brother he had only found out he had a few days ago.

No. Not just a few days ago.

He had always suspected it, but he had always denied it within himself so that he could feel less guilty for what had been done to Zarek. What _he_ had done to him. As long as he lied to himself and told himself that Zarek was only a whipping boy, only a slave, he would not have to feel responsible.

And yet, it still didn't matter that Zarek was part of his blood. He still felt guilty. Guilty for what Zarek had become, and what he himself had become because of his brother.

But despite everything that Zarek was, he had incurred the trust and care of Laine. He had always thought her too happy, to carefree, and too naïve for the world that she lived in. She knew of the dark things around her, and yet she managed to smile in its face. He had always thought her a fool. But tonight, he saw that her usual persona came from her strength; within, she cared, and she cared deeply. Enough to want to save the wretched man that lay on his guest bed.

"Why do you hate each other?"

He came out of his reverie to find Laine looking up at him. Her eyes told him that she wanted to know everything. Why both of them had become Dark-Hunters, what had ruined both of their lives. His head told him to withhold what he knew, but seeing that she was already immersed neck deep with Zarek and whatever was hunting him, he decided that she deserved at least to know something.

"He hates _me_," Valerius said with emphasis. There was raw emotion in those words, and Laine was almost sorry she asked. "And rightly so. He was our whipping boy."

"Your what?"

Valerius looked at her and realized that being raised in the modern world, she knew nothing about his people's customs. "A whipping boy. A boy that took our beatings for us whenever we misbehaved or didn't learn our lessons." The look of revulsion on Laine's face pained his chest. It was a cruel world that he lived in, he knew. Whipping boys were supposed to have formed emotional attachments with the aristocratic boys that they were whipped for. By witnessing the beating of the other, young members of the aristocracy were supposed to learn compassion and selflessness.

It only taught his brothers and himself ruthlessness, that they could get away with anything and only see the slave be punished. It made them into what his father wanted them to be.

"Every time we were supposed to be punished, Zarek was instead," he answered.

Laine could sense the emotional turmoil that was going through the Dark-Hunter's mind. It was a feeling of regret, guilt, and horror at his doings. It washed over her like a wave of sadness. Whatever Valerius had done, he had wished he hadn't.

"I felt sorry for Zarek when we were children and every time I tried to help him, I only ended up hurting him more. He has a right to hate every single member of our family," he spoke with a voice that was toneless. "I should have just ignored him and left him alone. It would have been better for both of us." He looked toward the Dark-Hunter on the bed, and could feel himself getting weak. "It's probably what I should have done tonight, instead of letting the two of you in."

But Laine wasn't afraid that he would throw them out. Instead, she said, "It's not wrong to try and help someone."

Valerius gave a low laugh. "_Nullus factum bonus incedo sinepoena_ – No good deed goes unpunished, as my father used to say."

His thoughts were so strong that they began to flood her mind. She wanted to know more, and without thinking, she reached out and touched Valerius's arm to better see the images that were coming from him.

The room faded as she closed her eyes and entered into Valerius's thoughts. She was in a courtyard, cold, almost naked except for a loincloth. Facing her was a large man that looked strikingly like the adult Zarek, but was dressed in a toga and sandals. He was holding a large piece of cloth in his hand, so worn and moth-eaten that she couldn't tell its original shade.

Next to him was another boy, beaten so badly that his right arm was mangled and one of his eyes almost blind. He was covered in welts, and he was freshly bleeding from a cut on his lip. She cringed inwardly at the sight.

Somehow, she knew that that the rag was a horse blanket, and that she had given it to the mangled child, Zarek.

"What is this?" the man said, his eyes stern and his voice cool and collected. He was speaking in Latin, but Laine could understand him.

"A… a blanket," she mumbled.

The man's eyes grew colder. "And why did the slave have it?"

She continued to shiver. "I gave it to him." The man looked as if he was going to strike her, and she quickly came up with an excuse. "He… he looked cold, sir."

The man smiled evilly, throwing the blanket aside. His voice turned soft, low, like poisoned honey flowing over his tongue. "So, you care for this slave, do you? You care that he is cold or hot? Hungry or well-fed?"

She immediately knew that was she said was wrong. "No… no, sir. I don't care." She cast a glance at the bloodied child behind the man. Zarek was glaring at her with his good eye, all of his will bent upon hating her. Her heart caught in her throat.

"No?" the man said, bending down to her. He strode over and snatched up a whip that was on the floor. It was caked with blood, no doubt from the countless times it was used against Zarek. "Then prove it. Whip him with this."

She didn't want to. The poor child was already beaten to a pulp, but she knew that if she didn't, she would get a harsher whipping from her father. Perhaps if she whipped him lightly… she could pull the strokes and perhaps it wouldn't hurt as much.

She moved toward Zarek, who continued to glare with hate in his eyes. He turned his back, pulling in his muscles, assuming his normal stance when he was whipped. It was as if he knew what was coming and accepted it. There was no begging, no pleading.

She let the whip go.

But at the first hit, she knew something was wrong. Her inexperienced hands made the whip land on flesh that had never been hit before. She left marks on Zarek's untouched arms and legs, and though he never uttered a sound before, he now cried out, almost buckling under the whip. She felt sick inside, as if she was going to vomit.

On her unsteady legs, she accidentally snapped the whip up too high so that it hit the boy in the face. He cried, bringing a grimy hand up to his left eye, where blood began to spurt.

Her father laughed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "That's it, my son. Always strike where they're the most vulnerable. You'll make a fine general one day."

Zarek glared at them with his other eye with enough hatred to kill them. And for that look, the man took up the whip and continued to beat him until he fell to the ground.

Her stomach was churning, and she had to get away. Turning, she ran from the courtyard, her eyes blurred with tears. She continued to run until she fell down by a large fountain in the center of an atrium. She hadn't meant to do it. She hadn't meant to hurt Zarek. But perhaps they were all right: perhaps she had to tame her tender heart.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she cried as she sobbed into the edge of the fountain.

It was then that she heard the footsteps of her father coming from behind. "Valerius!" his voice was enough to make her cringe again. "What are you doing?"

When she didn't answer, he pulled her from the ground by her hair. "You pathetic little worm," he said through clenched through teeth. "I should have named you Valeria. You're more woman than man."

He backhanded her. The pain was unbearable, and she fell to the ground cowering. She tried to push herself up, but a blinding slice of pain came across her back. Her father still had the whip, and it was coming down on her instead of Zarek. She dropped to the ground again, almost accepting the blows that rained down hard. She tried to cover her head, but the blows continued to come, and she couldn't help but cry even harder.

"Get up!" the man snarled above her. When she didn't, he kicked her in the ribs. "Up, damn, you, or I'll give you twenty more."

The threat was enough to overcome the pain, and slowly, she pushed herself up even though her knees were weak and her back ached to stand. The man seized her by the throat and shoved her against the wall, grating her newly made wounds against the roughness. She gasped at the pain, but could do nothing under her father's hand.

"You will stand here until nightfall and if you so much as bend your knees to rest them, I will see you beaten every day until you learn to stomach your pain. Do you understand me?"

She nodded.

Then suddenly, she was thrown from the memory.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20

* * *

**

Laine found herself on the floor of the room, sobbing and gasping, clenching every muscle in her upper body as if she was actually in pain. She had felt, heard, seen everything. Everything. She had been Valerius, and she had seen what had happened to Zarek.

How had Valerius taken it? How could he have put up with it for his entire life? And Zarek… she had only been in Valerius's mind, and she could not imagine what it must have been like for Zarek.

No wonder he lashed out at everyone. He felt like he had to hurt them before they could hurt him. It was a way for him to actually function because otherwise, he would break apart. There was no one he could trust, because as soon as he put his trust in someone, they would hurt him again.

"You should not have done that," Valerius said sternly from above her. His eyes flashed fire, and she saw that his fangs were bared in an angry snarl. Shaking, Laine got to her feet, wiping the tears from her eyes and massaging the back of her head, still feeling Valerius's father's grip on her hair.

"I'm sorry," she managed to say, her throat still hoarse from her crying. "I did not mean to. My powers do strange things at times." The Dark-Hunter did not stop glaring, but in his stern pose, she saw compassion and sympathy for once. "I understand why he hates you," she said softly. "It isn't fair, and it may not be right, but I understand." She paused, and Valerius realized too late her shrewdness. "My question is why you hate yourself."

The Dark-Hunter closed his eyes and looked away. "You should rest as well," he said. "I must leave. The streets cannot remain unpatrolled and Zarek is draining my powers."

Before Laine could protest or question him, he was gone, leaving her in the dark room with Zarek. Not knowing exactly what to do, she sat on one of the wine-colored chairs decorating the room. Her arm was aching again, and she pulled out the ointment Carson had given her and applied it to where she was hit by the godbolt.

Due to her ability to heal quickly and Carson's skill, the patch of skin just looked like a bad burn. The cool that came from the ointment soothed the skin there and she replaced her bandages before resting her head against the back of the chair.

Laine desperately wanted sleep, but she remembered that she had to call her family and warn them. It would be crucial at a time like this. Slowly, she picked up her phone, only to find that while she had been within Valerius's memories, Aimee had called her four times. There was no message, as was usual for the bears; they did not wish to leave evidence for anyone in case the person was held captive and their phone taken away.

She walked out of the room to let Zarek rest better and immediately called her sister back.

Aimee picked up on the first ring.

"Laine?" she asked before the girl could say a single thing. "Where the hell are you?" The urgency in the bearswan's voice made Laine realize that her family already knew something was wrong.

"I can't tell you that, Aimee," she said evenly. "But I'm safe for now."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone. "Laine, what is going on? Your father came into Sanctuary in broad daylight, asking about you. He… he can't do that can he? And the Squires came only just now, wanting to know about your location as well."

The girl's heart skipped a beat. "Listen to me, Aimee," she said quickly. "You need to tell everyone at Sanctuary to be on the lookout for my father. Artemis has called for Zarek's head, and Damien's been named Thanatos – a Dayslayer. He and the Blood-Rite Squires are trying to find Zarek at all costs."

Aimee paused. "What?" she finally asked. It was only then that Laine realized half of what she said would not make sense to anyone who had not known what she saw. "Zarek? You mean the crazy Dark-Hunter Ash brought in for Mardis Gras who you were supposed to help for his stay here?"

Laine ground her teeth. "Yes."

The bear made an animal-like sound deep in her throat. "It's no wonder Artemis wants him dead. He practically exposed the Hunters to the world."

"That's not the reason why she wants to kill him," Laine explained. "And I don't think Ash wants Zarek dead."

"Don't tell me you're helping Zarek in this," the bear said, a warning tone coming into her voice.

"I have to, Aimee," Laine answered evenly. "He's a good man, and he doesn't deserve to be a Shade for the rest of his life." In fact, he hadn't deserved almost everything that had happened to him.

But the bear did not understand. "So that's the reason the Squires came," she said coldly. "They will be hunting for you, Laine, and when they don't find you, they will come to Sanctuary again. You are putting us in danger. And for what? A Dark-Hunter?"

It didn't make sense in Aimee's mind, and Laine could understand why. And it truly was not fair for her family; she could not put Zarek before them, but she knew from experience that her family was very well capable of handling danger. As long as her family knew about the situation, they would be able to fight Artemis's wrath. Sanctuary's license came from much higher up than the Greek goddess, and even Artemis could do nothing about that without angering those powers.

But Zarek had no one. He had almost died today, and if Thanatos came for him again, he would be killed.

"If they come again, tell them that you know nothing about where I am, or where Zarek is," she said. "It is the truth, and they can do nothing without violating Sanctuary laws."

Aimee let out a long breath. "Why are you helping him, Laine?" The silence that came from the other end of the phone was enough to answer the bear's question, and she sighed again. "_Maman _is not going to be happy about this," she said finally. "But we're family, and if you think this is best, the rest of us will help you."

Laine closed her eyes and silently thanked the heavens as her eyes welled with tears of gratitude. "Thank you, Aimee."

"We'll be on guard," she said. "And if you need to bring him here, we'll know how to deal with Artemis."

The girl made a disapproving sound. "I'm not going to endanger you further by doing that," she said clearly. "Artemis as an enemy is never a good thing."

"Artemis is a bitch, but we bears know how to deal with dogs."

She couldn't help but laugh at that. "Be safe, Aimee."

"You too, hon."

Laine hung up and went back to Zarek's room, ready to watch over him should anything happen.

* * *

As Valerius predicted, it was three days before Zarek woke. In that time, Laine communicated with her family by phone, but never actually went back to Sanctuary, afraid that Thanatos would find her there or have someone tell him that she was still associating with the Peltiers.

It was from these phone calls with Aimee, Dev, and _maman_ that she found that Vane and Fang had been attacked by their own pack, betrayed by their own people because of the death of their sister, Anya. Fang was unconscious and currently residing in Sanctuary, and Vane was working to keep both himself and his brother there.

She did not hear from Nick, and thought it best that she did not communicate with the Squire in case he was obligated to turn her in. But she knew from her phone call to warn her that he respected Zarek enough to want him to live. The one person that she truly wished to hear from, but never did, was Mike. Laine felt a pressing need to explain everything to him, to let him know that she was not betraying him or the Squire Council.

She was saving a man's life, and she wished that there were more people in the world who knew the real Zarek.

But she was alone.

Even Valerius did not come near the wing of the house that Zarek occupied because the two drained each other's powers, and Zarek needed all of his to heal properly. But he was healing, and Laine remained grateful for the other Dark-Hunter's help.

* * *

Zarek woke to excruciating pain, and that was saying something for him. His back felt as if it was being slowly burned on a roasting spit, and his head throbbed. He half expected to find himself still lying on the cold cement where Thanatos had left him bleeding from a million gunshot wounds, but instead, he found he was lying on a soft bed, beneath a light coverlet.

With difficulty, he sat up, and found that he was wearing his black pants, but his shirt had been cut away and replaced by bandages covering his entire torso. The room he was in was completely dark. The windows were boarded up so that no outside light could come in.

He cursed, realizing he did not even know what day it was, let alone the time. Looking around, he saw that he was lying in a four-poster bed, and the room was decorated in dark reds and blacks. Everything looked incredibly expensive, making him growl.

He hated rich people.

Zarek got up from the bed and tested his legs. Finding that he could still walk, he removed the bandages and found that while he was not completely recovered, his wounds were now light. He could have sworn he had been shot, but the only remnant of the hole was a raw patch of skin on his chest and on his back. The other wounds had almost completely healed, meaning that he had to have been out for at least a couple of days. His muscles, however, told the true tale of his injuries.

Growling, he moved over to the closet, where he found rows of T-shirts and button-ups, all from Armani. Rolling his eyes, he didn't hesitate to "borrow" a black one, and found that it fit him almost perfectly.

Whoever's house he was in, the man was at least six feet tall, had good taste in clothes, and had the money to indulge his expensive desires.

There was a creak on the steps outside his door.

He whirled around, ready to defend himself despite the pain in his back and the ache in his head. His weapons were gone, but he was more than deadly with just his bare hands.

The door to the room opened revealing …

Laine, holding an apple and a glass of juice. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she was dressed comfortably in sweat pants, sneakers, and a zip-up jacket. Despite her casual dress, Zarek could not help but notice the way her jacket hugged her small breasts and how the sweatpants somehow enhanced her bottom. His thoughts trailed back to their kiss, and his groin tightened.

Unaware that Zarek was up, Laine used her mind to turn on the small lamp next to the bed, and she gasped when she found him standing.

"You're up!" she said, nearly dropping her snack. Quickly, she put the food down on a nearby dresser. "How do you feel?" Standing, dressed all in black, Zarek didn't answer immediately, but only stared at her, his face twisted in his normal expression of a snarl. "That bad huh?" she quipped. Why she was joking, she did not know.

She knew that there was nothing funny about their situation, but Zarek was conscious, and that almost made her giddy.

"Where am I?" he asked. "How did I get here?"

Laine opened her mouth, but hesitated. Though Valerius had never explicitly told her to hide the fact that Zarek was in his house, she thought it best for Zarek to be awake for a bit longer before she revealed that he was in the house of his worst enemy. Instead, she said the first thing that came to her mind, "Are you hungry?"

He didn't like when people deflected his questions, but now that Zarek came to think of it, he was starving. "Yes," he said a little more civilly. "How long have I been unconscious?"

Laine took a sip of her juice. "Not counting the night that you got here, almost three days," she said. He saw that all traces of laughter had gone from her eyes. "Stay here. I'll go downstairs and get you something to eat, and then take a look at your back."

With that, she disappeared.

_Stay here_, she had said. Zarek snorted at the words. As if she had any way of making him stay. Even if she did, he wasn't too good at obeying orders anymore. Thinking this, he headed out of the door a few moments after she was gone.

He found himself in an enormous hallway, but a few feet away from his room, he came to a grand staircase. At the top, there were paintings on the walls and two busts served as the poles for the bottom of the banister. Zarek did not even have to touch the paintings to know that they were real, and he rolled his eyes again in disgust.

Now there really was no doubt that the house belonged to a very rich person, and he was beginning to dislike this person more and more. He hesitated for a moment, then headed down the stairs. He had to give the person credit for having a house that was quite accommodating for Dark-Hunters, however; the lamps were all incredibly dim, and all the windows painted black or barred. There was no chance that sunlight would come through here.

Then he saw him.

Valerius was walking into the living room, and Zarek saw him stiffen as he sensed another presence. For a moment, they locked eyes.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Zarek asked, his lip curling in disgust at the face of the Roman Dark-Hunter. He could feel every hair on his body stand up in hatred, and he fought to not attack Valerius outright.

He saw the other Hunter's back straighten and his fists clench at his side. Zarek felt his own muscles tense, ready to pounce should Valerius attack him. "This is my house, Zarek," the Roman said evenly. "Laine brought you here as a guest."

Zarek let out a loud oath. So much for trust. He had thought Laine was on his side, but she had brought him to Valerius's house, no doubt because she was ready to laugh at him when he died later. He then realized that he had been lying in Valerius's bed, and was even wearing his shirt. It explained the Armani explosion in the closet.

Disgusted, he pulled off the shirt and threw it down. "Like hell," he snarled. "I don't need anything from you, Roman."

He saw Valerius's back straighten even more, and he wondered what kind of rod was shoved up the other Hunter's ass. The Roman's lip curled, mirroring Zarek's expression, and Zarek was reminded of the way his father had used to look at him. As if he was worth nothing.

Well, he may be worth nothing, but he wouldn't let anyone give him that look again. "Wipe that expression from you face, before I do it for you," he spat.

Valerius's face remained the way it was. "Be careful with that shirt, Greek," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "It's worth ten of you."

In an instant, Zarek was down the stairs and went for the Roman's throat.

Laine was in the kitchen trying to boil some water for pasta when she heard a crash from the living room. "Things just don't get boring around here," she said under her breath and turned off the fire before rushing out to see what was happening.

In the living room, Zarek had just struck a deadly blow on Valerius's cheek, and the bruises were beginning to show on his own face. Valerius had retrieved a weapon that he no doubt kept hidden around: a long fighting stick that he was using to ward off the blows from the other, seemingly crazed Dark-Hunter.

Her heart leaped painfully at the sight of Zarek's bruises, and she ran forward.

"What the hell are you doing?" she cried.

All thoughts of telekinesis left her, and she jumped into the middle of the fray, trying to separate the two men. But she jumped in at the wrong time, making Valerius step back so that Zarek easily landed a blow to his stomach. They both staggered back at the pain, Zarek more so.

"Stop this!" she cried, running forward to help Zarek and hoping that her body would serve as a deterrent for his fists. "Zarek, Valerius isn't here to hurt you. I brought you here, and he was willing to have you until you healed. You should thank him."

Zarek got to his feet, his lip bleeding and his knuckles split. The pain and anger in her eyes almost made her step back. "I should have known you were in league with him. You think you can take me away from Thanatos just so I can be a whipping boy to this fucker here? Think again, little girl."

He headed for the door, cuts, wounds and all.

"Wait!"

He suddenly felt a force holding him back, an invisible wall that he could not break out of. Laine ran up before him and barred the way. "The sun just came up. You can't leave yet."

Zarek bared his fangs at her like an animal, and she felt something shatter within her.

What had she been thinking? Did she not know that this would inevitably happen? When Zarek woke up, he would know that he was in Valerius's house, and with the hate that he bore him, there would be no way he would want to be indebted to the other Dark-Hunter. But she had been stupid, naively believing that as long as Valerius was willing to house Zarek, everything would be alright.

She had not considered that Zarek would not want to be housed.

"Please," she said, her voice hollow. "Stay until sunset." Then she looked over at Valerius. "If that's alright."

The Roman straightened his shirt and wiped some blood from his face. "Do what you want," he said, his voice brimming with anger. "I wash my hands of him." With that, he marched up the stairs, without so much as heeding Laine's quiet, "Thank you." In a few moments, a door slammed.

Zarek looked at Laine, and in the light of the living room, he saw the dark circles under her eyes, the worn expression she had. She looked like she hadn't slept in days, and from the peaky look of her cheekbones, hadn't been eating very well either. It was obvious that she was dead tired, and yet she didn't want to show it.

Guilt suddenly washed over him. She had, after all, taken some effort to get him here, and for better or for worse, he was still alive.

She looked back at him, and he thought that he would see resentment there, but there was none. Only sorrow and pain. "If you wait a little, I can make you some pasta," she said, and headed for the kitchen.

His heart wrenched.

Never in his life had anyone ever treated him this way. He knew, somehow, that he had hurt her by refusing Valerius's help, by starting a fight. Any time he had ever done anything wrong before, or even when he hadn't, he had been beaten or somehow punished for his deed. And yet, Laine did not hold any resentment for him. Did not scream or yell at him.

She only offered to help him more.

She had to be crazy.

But then again, so was he. He did not know why, but he reached out as she walked past him and grabbed her arm, stopping her.

She turned, surprised at the intensity in Zarek's gaze, and suddenly, she was aware that he was no longer wearing a shirt. His bare chest was only inches from her face, and she could almost feel the electricity coming off of his body.

Her breath caught in her throat, and she longed to reach out, to rub against that long, lean body, but she stopped herself. Zarek didn't want her. He didn't want anyone. But how much she wanted to reach out to him. How much she wanted to kiss him again and make him want her…

"If you don't like pasta, I can make you some fish," she said, trying to steer the conversation away from the dirty thoughts that were flying through her mind. "Is tilapia good? I think that's the only fish there is. You Dark-Hunters all seem to be red meat-eaters."

"Stay with me, Laine," Zarek said, his voice low.

She gasped at the words. In just that one sentence, she heard the need, the pain, the anger, the torture that the man had gone through. She could feel his desire to be with someone, to trust someone, to not be alone anymore.

"Of course," she said, stepping closer to him.

He looked down at the woman standing before him, his heart pounding. _Let her go_, his mind was saying. _She doesn't need baggage like you_. But her presence made it hard to focus on those thoughts. He could smell her scent—peaches and cream—and it made him instantly hard.

But it was more than just a physical desire.

She had done so much for him, and he had never asked her for any of it. His head returned to their kiss, and he realized he wanted to taste her again. Wanted to have her beneath him, screaming his name.

He leaned down and kissed her.

Zarek's lips were hot and urgent, so much better than what her memory had given her. Here he was again, that playful, loving Zarek that she had only seen a couple of times. She wanted to get to know that man better, and here he was, sucking gently on her lower lip, tasting her as if he could not get enough.

Her arms encircled his neck, and she felt his arms come around her waist as they deepened their kiss, his tongue tentatively touching hers. She kissed him back, loving the feel of his bare skin against her body, wanting, too, to continue to taste him.

But suddenly, he pulled back.

Zarek wanted to continue kissing her, wanted to have her in his arms forever, but he realized that they were in Valerius's living room. And the last thing he wanted was for this to be interrupted again. And he wanted to see her eyes. Wanted to see if she regretted what she was doing with him.

But he only saw tenderness there.

She seemed to know what he was thinking, and took him by the hand. "Come with me," she said quietly, and led him up the stairs to the room where he had been sleeping.

* * *

To be continued!

Warning: Next chapter will be incredibly smutty. Read at your own risk! :D


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21

* * *

**

With an eagerness that surprised him, Laine pushed him down on the bed and kissed him again, he sitting, and she leaning down. He growled as her lips met his again, and he pulled her back on top of him. She was kissing him, like he was worth something.

When he was human, women had screamed when they saw him. They had thrown things at him and run away. So many times, he had wondered what it was like to touch a woman, to hold one. This was so much better than what he thought.

He wanted to know what it felt like to be inside of her, to have her for himself.

Laine pulled back for a second, standing between his open legs, one arm resting on his shoulder as she weaved her other hand through his hair. "You're so handsome," she murmured, and pulled him close to her.

The words seared him. He held her tight, his arms around her waist and his head against her waist. He wasn't handsome. He was scary, disgusting-looking. But if he truly was, why was Laine holding him like this? Why was she letting him touch her?

Laine kissed the top of his head and trailed her fingers down his back, sending shivers through him. He was aching with need already, but somehow, that touch almost sent him over the edge. He pulled her onto the bed with him, and she came readily, pulling down the zipper of her jacket, and throwing the garment to the floor.

To his delight, she was only wearing a bra underneath, her lean body exposed to him.

He breathed in looked at her. She looked incredibly inviting, except for the ugly-looking burn on the upper part of her right arm, where she had been hit by the godbolt. He felt indignity wash over him, wanting to kill Dionysus for hurting her like this.

But this anger was distracted by the rest of Laine. The paleness of her skin, the way her small breasts filled the cups of her bra, and the small hollow at the base of her neck, where her collarbones met.

He claimed the area with his mouth, seeing if it really tasted as good as it looked.

It was better.

He wanted her as he did no other woman before.

Laine could see the desire in Zarek's eyes, and she knew she wanted him. She wanted to be with him in a way that she had never known before. Pulling back from him, she removed her shoes, socks, and pants so that she was wearing nothing but her bra and panties.

Suddenly, she felt shy, and knelt on the bed, wondering if she should cover herself. Never had she shown so much of her body to a man before, and she was not sure if what she was doing was right. Was she being too bold? Too forward?

Zarek couldn't breathe at the sight of her kneeling on the bed. She looked beautiful, almost like an angel, sitting there, her dark hair strewn about her shoulders and her legs curled beneath her.

"Fuck me, Laine," he said, not knowing what else to do.

She hesitated. "No," she said quietly. "I won't fuck you, Zarek." She stretched herself out next to him, putting one hand on his waist and laying one long leg over his thigh. Her face was only a few inches from his. "But I will make love to you."

Making love.

He had only ever heard the term. He had never thought he would actually do it. He had only ever fucked women, but for some reason, now, he wanted to be with Laine as a man, not as some wild animal.

As he watched, she removed the rest of her clothes and again laid down next to him.

Unable to hold himself back, he kissed her, rolling his body over hers so that she was beneath him. He wanted to taste her. Every inch. And he pulled back, staring down her body. Her breasts were pert, and the nipples taut, begging him to taste them. One of her hands was resting on his hip, and his breath caught when he looked lower, where her legs joined. He wanted to ravage her.

Laine blushed as she saw Zarek looking at her.

No other man had ever seen her naked, and she felt incredibly self-conscious, being naked when he still had his pants on. But that melted away when Zarek looked back up at her, and she saw his eyes. He watched her as if he could not get enough of her, and suddenly, he pounced.

She cried out as he began to suckle one of her breasts, his hand coming up to cup the other. He rolled her nipple under his thumb, and she gasped, clutching at his back. She had to have more of him.

But Zarek took his time tasting her, his eyes closed. His expression was serene, and Laine felt something within her soften at the sight of him. He was no longer the cold, angry man from before. He touched her deep inside, and she could feel it even as her arousal rose.

Moisture pooled between her legs, and she felt an emptiness inside her. One that only he could fill. Zarek continued to kiss her breasts, his hands roaming her body. She closed her eyes and let him explore, until he suddenly grazed the area between her legs.

Her eyes snapped open as electricity seemed to fire through her, and she yelped in pleasure. "Oh, Zarek." He looked up at her, a small smile playing on his lips, as he ran his finger down her cleft. She shivered at the touch, and he laughed low at what he was doing to her.

Slowly, he began to use his fingers to rub the area, building the ache within her for him. He lay down next to her, his fingers never leaving the area between her legs. As she gasped at the tortuous, slow pleasure he was giving her, he nipped at the sensitive area around her neck.

His hot breath against her shoulder made her shiver once more. The softness of her body was making him so hard, it hurt, and as he continued to pleasure her, he kissed down her throat. Before the day was over, he was going to have her over and over again.

He would make love to her.

The words made his chest ache. He wanted to hold her and never let go, have her melt into him until they were one.

Laine could feel the tension build up inside of her as Zarek's hot breath seared her neck and his hand continued its play. She opened her eyes to see him at her chest, his tongue dancing down her collarbone. His weight above her was heavenly.

He saw her watching and quirked up one side of his mouth before moving up suddenly to claim her lips in his. That kiss drove her to the edge, and she cried out his name as she came for the first time, waves of pleasure rolling through her body, as she held him close.

His name sounded beautiful on her lips, and he continued to kiss her and touch her, not wanting the moment to end. She continued to spasm beneath him, her body clenching and unclenching as more and more pleasure coursed through her. He looked down at her, fascinated by the way her eyes shut and her mouth opened at the ecstasy that she was experiencing.

She was gorgeous beneath him, and he could not believe she was allowing her to do this.

He kissed her chest and scooted down the bed, taking her into his mouth.

Laine cried out that the pleasure, and she opened her eyes to see Zarek lying there between her legs. Never had she dreamed of doing this with a man, never thought that she could receive so much pleasure. She reached down and stoked his hair, loving the feel of him between her thighs.

When she came again, he laughed at the sound and pulled his body up on the bed so that it was next to hers. Laine opened her eyes to see Zarek there beside her. His warm body was pressed up against hers, like it belonged right next to hers.

It was strange, this intimacy, and suddenly, she was again embarrassed being so naked and so close to him. "Hey," she said quietly, turning her body.

"Hey yourself," he answered, but he was smiling and no sarcasm tinged his voice. She wanted to be closer to him and placed her arms around his waist, hugging him close to her.

He couldn't breathe as Laine embraced him, holding him tightly as if she needed him to live. Not knowing what he was doing, he allowed his hands to encircle around her so that he was holding her just as tightly.

Her soft skin against him felt heavenly, and he breathed in her scent from her hair. Then, not able to contain himself any longer, he rolled over so that she was beneath him. Holding her gaze, he braced himself. He wanted to look at her and see if she still wanted him during this. If she didn't regret what she was doing.

Holding his breath, he slid himself deep within her.

Just the feel of her around him almost finished him. She was warm and inviting, and she moaned and arched her back as he entered her. A flash of pain went through her face, but her eyes held his, and he saw that nothing in them said regret.

"What is it?" he asked, stopping.

She bit her lip, trying to quell the small tinge of pain that was coming from between her legs. "It's my first time," she told him truthfully. "It's supposed to hurt."

His eyebrows furrowed. "It didn't hurt for me."

She smiled. "It only hurts for women, silly."

He looked at her with an expression halfway between puzzled and angry.

Zarek could not understand. No one had ever called him "silly," of all things, but the words were said without intention to harm. And the way that she was smiling made him want to hold her close. She was teasing him, and he liked it.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked, and she saw the concern in his eyes.

"No," she answered truthfully. "But please be gentle."

The words tore through him, and his heart ached at what she trusted him with. "Of course," he answered hoarsely, kissing her. He understood now why Talon had been so protective of Sunshine. He could not imagine hurting Laine or letting anyone else hurt her.

He would kill them before that happened.

Zarek rode her slowly, almost as if he wanted the moment to last forever. The feel of him within her was incredibly satisfying, and she wondered how she could bear to be apart from him again. Something about being joined so intimately with Zarek felt right. She had always wondered what it was like to be with a man, but this was more than what her imagination could give her.

He continued to ride her, to savor the feeling of being inside of her. She touched him somehow, in a place that he thought was long dead. And he, the fool, only wanted more of her.

But being here with Laine made him not care. He would be a fool for her, anything for her to touch him, to make him feel like this.

She caught his gaze and smiled up at him. Then, without warning, she pulled his face down for a kiss.

The kiss sent him over the edge, and he felt something within him snap and burst. Her body surrounded his, and he felt a sense of tenderness that he had never felt before.

Laine held Zarek as he shuddered against her and came, his hands holding tightly to her waist, as if he could never let go. As if he was holding on for life. He lay against her, still and spent, for once calm and tranquil.

He was still in her, and she did not want him to leave. She had needed this just as much as he did.

Kissing his neck, she murmured in his ear, "Thank you for being with me, Zarek."

She felt him shudder again above her, and she held him even closer.

The sound of his name on her lips was the best thing he had ever heard. He wanted her to say it over and over again. He wanted to stay with her, to be at peace.

But Thanatos was hunting him, and if she was with him, no doubt she would get hurt. Just as she did back in the warehouse with Dionysus. He couldn't hurt her. It was why he had to leave.

It was the best thing to do.

She would find someone else and forget all about him. It wasn't as if he was anything memorable. They had shared something in this moment, but it was just a moment for her. She would have many more, unlike him. While he treasured this, she would move on.

Thinking this, he moved off of her and stood up in a flash.

"Zarek? What's wrong?"

He didn't answer her as dragged on his pants and pulled the black shirt over his head. The alarm in her voice made him grind his teeth as he was torn between doing what he had to and going back to the bed to comfort her. But he had to get away before he gave in to her again. He didn't need this. He needed to be by himself, to figure out how to defeat Thanatos.

And if not defeat, then die.

He cursed himself for letting himself have this moment. For letting Laine reach so deep within him that it hurt to pull her out again. But it was necessary. He had been weak for a moment, but now it was time to step back to reality. He couldn't have this woman with him.

"Please don't run from me," she said, and he snarled, turning to her.

She had sat up, wrapping the sheets around her.

"I'm not running from you," he said, his voice cold. "I don't run from anyone."

Laine's heart froze at the snarl that he had had given her. Why was he like this? How could he transition so quickly from the gentle, caring man that had just made love to her to this scared, tortured soul?

But she didn't have to ask. She knew.

He had been kicked around so many times that he wanted to hurt before he was hurt. He still did not trust her, and it tore at her soul.

"Please stay," she said, but Zarek ignored her.

"You can get dressed and leave whenever you want," he said harshly, pulling on his socks and shoes.

For a moment, Laine could not believe what had come from the man's mouth. Then anger and hurt boiled within her, and she wrenched herself from the bed and began to pull on her clothes. She could feel Zarek's eyes on her, and she shuddered under that intense gaze.

"You can stop looking at me if I repulse you that much," she said, her voice bitter. She turned to look at the Dark-Hunter.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

She sneered. "Don't play dumb with me. If I'm so obviously a pity fuck that you want me out of here as soon as possible, you can at least have the decency to look away when I put on my clothes." The tears that were rolling down her face made him stop short. "Sorry if I wasn't good enough to even keep around for one night."

He clenched his teeth. What was she talking about? Not good enough? He didn't know whether to shake some sense into her or to hold her until she stopped crying. Didn't she understand that she was so far above him, he had to let go of her for her own good?

He turned away, only to see the blood on the sheets where he had taken her virginity. He clenched his fists. "Pity fuck? Did you know that when I was human, I was so desperate that I endured punches and kicks just so someone would touch me? If you're repulsive, then what am I?"

Laine stopped in the middle of dressing, and she stood there, wearing her pants and her bra. Zarek hissed at the sight of her like that, feeling himself grow hard again at the sight of her. He wanted to hold her, for her to hold him. She made him warm inside, made him feel. And that was why she had to go.

"Then why are you pushing me away?" she asked. "Stay with me. Trust that I won't hurt you like those people did." When he did not speak, she continued. "They were idiots not see you for what you are, Zarek. It makes them worthless, not you."

She stepped closer so that they were almost touching. "I know it's difficult, but please, will you trust me?"

Zarek was terrified. He wanted to turn away from her, spurn her and leave.

He found himself nodding and wiping the tears from her face.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated this story in a while. Things have just been really crazy lately, as I just moved back to the US after studying abroad in the UK. Exams there are no joke!

But rest assured, I have not abandoned this fan-fic, and to prove it to you, here is another chapter. :)

* * *

**Chapter 22**

* * *

Laine woke to the feel of Zarek around her. She gently turned her head to look at him over her shoulder and found that he was holding her tightly around her waist, his head buried in her hair.

It was so tender that she did not want to move, but her Apollite instincts told her that it was past sunset, and they would have to leave Valerius's house. "Zarek," she called gently, and tried to dislodge herself from the man's embrace.

But he only held on tighter, his knees drawing up to envelope her entire body. She smiled at this Zarek, the one that she almost never saw, and turned so that she faced him.

Zarek was dreaming again. He was standing in the snow, his surroundings blurred from the blizzard. The snow was so thick that he could see nothing in front of him, and he could barely breathe. His heart pounded loudly in his ears as something told him deep down that he would never be able to find his way out of this snowstorm.

Silently, he looked up and cursed the gods for his fate, but even as he did so, he noticed something strange. The winds suddenly calmed, and the snow began to fall more gently, coming down in big, fluffy flakes, the ones that he had only seen on TV, and never in Alaska. Even more to his astonishment, the flakes that fell on his face were warm and comforting.

He woke to Laine gently kissing him on his nose. "Wake up, sleepyhead," she said, smiling as he opened his eyes. He wondered how she could know about the danger that they were about to face and still smile the way that she did. "There's a big bad world out there that wants to get us, and we have to get going."

Zarek groaned as Laine wiggled her way out of his grasp. Her bottom scraped against his groin, and he felt himself tighten as his body remembered her. "Do that again," he whispered before he could catch himself.

"Uh uh," she said, still smiling and standing up from the bed. "If I do, we'll never get out of this bed."

"Is that such a bad thing?" he asked, grinning as she stretched her naked body in front of him.

"Ah, so Mr. Snarly knows how to smile!" she said, though her tone was not mean. She went to the dresser to grab a towel, which she carefully wrapped around herself. "Tell you what. I'll go shower, and in return for not having to smell my funk, you make us some dinner."

Normally, Zarek was not one to do anyone any favors, but Laine looked so wonderful, standing there in a white towel, that he would have done anything she asked. In a moment, she was gone from the room, and he could feel her absence like a pain upon his chest.

* * *

Laine came downstairs feeling much better after her shower. During the time that Zarek was unconscious in the past few days, she had had a chance to go back to her apartment to get some clothes. She found Zarek in the large dining room, sitting down on a seat with two ham sandwiches on what looked like Valerius's best china dishes. Next two them were two wine glasses.

"This look great!" she said, sitting down across from the Dark-Hunter. "The dishes and the wine are a bit fancy for sandwiches, though, don't you think?"

He gave her an evil smile. "I made sure to drop a few to thank our gracious host."

"Zarek!" Laine cried, but he had already bitten into his sandwich, still smiling at her. She tasted the wine. It was good. Really good. "Please don't tell me you also opened a bottle of his best wine."

Zarek shrugged. "Maybe it's his second best. I don't know too much about good wine."

Laine rolled her eyes, but she was too happy to be genuinely mad at Zarek. At least now he was just pulling pranks instead of hurting Valerius. This was the man that she had seen so often in his eyes, this playful, mischievous, but ultimately good-hearted man. Spontaneously, she leaned across the large table and took his hand.

He stopped eating and looked at her, his eyes dark with need.

"I'm glad we're in this together, Zarek," she said quietly, and Zarek swallowed at the emotion in her voice.

Quickly, he looked away, drawing his hand back. "Do you have a plan for here on out?"

She wanted to tell Zarek not to pull away from her, to let her in again, but realized that she had to take small steps. She turned back to sipping her wine. She searched her brain as she chewed on the sandwich, but nothing came to her. "Honestly? I have no idea."

Laine expected Zarek to curse, but he did not say anything for a moment. Then, "All right. I have one. We find Thanatos, kill him, and get on with our lives."

Laine bit into her sandwich again before trying to figure out if Zarek was joking or not. But the Dark-Hunter seemed completely serious as he finished off his food and stood up, leaving the crumbs on the expensive, mahogany dining room table.

"We can't kill him!" she said with more emphasis than she wanted.

Zarek turned his eyes on her with confusion. "Yeah, well we sure as hell can try."

Laine held her tongue, though she desperately wanted to tell him that that was not what she had meant to say at all. But how could she tell him that Thanatos, the Day-Slayer, was her father? How could she say that the thing hunting Zarek was someone that was related to her, someone she had not seen for nearly her entire life, but wanted to know?

The two could never meet, because neither could live while the other survived.

"Finding him should be easy," Zarek said, seeming to have not realized the panic in her voice. "He's looking for us too, and we can draw him to us. Have him fight us on our own grounds. Then I'll kill him."

The steel in his voice sent shivers down the woman's back.

"Laine, I want you to stay with Valerius," he suddenly said. "It's me he's after."

That was too much for her to handle. "Like hell!" she cried, standing up with him. "I'm going with you, and that's final, Zarek."

He turned, his eyes blazing as he looked at her. "It's too dangerous. You could die. Thanatos won't care who he kills in the crossfire." Then, suddenly, his eyes flickered, and Laine could almost read his thought process before the words formed in his mouth. "How did you get away from him the first time to bring me here?"

But Laine didn't have to answer, as suddenly, a crash sounded from the direction of the living room. Both of them ran toward the sound without thinking.

Zarek arrived first, to find a human dressed up in Goth clothing sitting in the midst of what used to be Valerius's coffee table. Well, almost human. She was wearing black lipstick, black combat boots, and red and black striped stocking with a shockingly red corset and black skirt. In her hand was a black-beaded purse, and on her head was a pair of pink horns. Her eyes glowed an eerily red color.

"What the—"

But before he could say anything else, Laine burst into the room as well. "Simi?" she said, seeing the other woman on the floor.

"Lainey!" the girl cried in a gleeful, child-like voice. She jumped up from her mess and ran over to hug the woman. "_Akri_ said that Simi would find you here, so Simi comes and finds you!" Laine endured the bone-crushing hug, but before she could say anything, the girl began to chatter again. "Do you have anything yummy for Simi to eat? She hungry from all that traveling she had to do."

Zarek finally overcame his surprise to open his mouth. "You know this girl?" he asked in bewilderment.

"Well, I only have half a sandwich left," Laine told her. "You can find it on the dining room table through there, ok?"

With a gleeful squeal, the girl ran to the next room to find her treat. Laine turned to the Dark-Hunter. "And yes, I do know Simi, but she's not a girl. She's Ash's demon."

"Ash's _what?_"

Laine held up her hands. "I know, I know. It's weird, but just go with it. She's Ash's demon, and Ash spoils her rotten. She may seem harmless, but don't get on her bad side. She is more dangerous than most beings in this universe." The woman turned to follow Simi into the dining room, but paused and turned back to Zarek. "Also, be careful of your possessions. She likes to eat almost everything with barbecue sauce, and I mean _everything._"

Sure enough, as soon as the two entered the dining room, Simi had started munching on Valerius's china plate. It was slathered in what Zarek presumed to be barbecue sauce, as on the table to her right, there was a large bottle that could only have been produced from her beaded purse.

"Mm, Simi always tell _akri_ that Lainey is quality people," the demon said happily, munching away on the plate. "This sandwich is yummy!"

Laine gave a genuine smile, though Zarek wanted to crawl back up the stairs and get back into bed. He did not know how his life could have been any stranger, but the gods had found a way. He now had a plate-eating demon in his life that spoke of herself in the third person.

"Simi, why did Ash send you here?" Laine asked gently as she cleared away the other utensils before Simi could get to them.

The demon screwed up her face as she swallowed the last bit of the plate. "_Akri _thinks you're in trouble," she said, obviously enjoying the fact that she knew something Laine did not. But then she shifted her attention onto Zarek. "Lainey, who that big, angry looking man you're with?"

The woman turned to look at Zarek and realized that he did indeed have another scowl on his face. "This is Zarek. He's a Dark-Hunter, and he's not really angry."

Simi looked doubtful. "He looks real angry though. Maybe he wants some barbecue sauce to cheer him up?"

Laine looked on, a bit awed, as Simi offered her prized bottle of barbecue sauce to Zarek, who, confusedly, took it. "Thank you, Simi," he said quietly. He put his finger to the edge of the opening and put a small dollop of sauce in his mouth. "It tastes great!"

The demon clapped her hands as Zarek handed the bottle back.

But Laine did not want to be side tracked from her thoughts. "What kind of trouble does Ash think I'm in, Simi?" she tried to push the demon to give her some answers. Simi had the attention span of a three-year-old, and she had to be constantly asked questions in order for any information to come out of her.

"_Akri_ says some big, bad thing is coming after you and probably him too," Simi said, pointing at Zarek. "He sent Simi her to protect you, and that's what Simi is gonna do."

Laine and Zarek exchanged a look. "So Ash knows about Thanataos," he said, and the woman nodded. Simi probably knew more than they did. Even though she was merely a child, she could sometimes be very shrewd.

"Where is Ash now?" Laine asked Simi, who pouted at the question.

"Simi can't tell you that."

Laine tried again. "Why can't he come himself?"

"Simi can't tell you that either," the demon said, her face still pulled down. "So many questions! Simi wants to see this big, bad thing. Simi will kill it if it hurts you, Lainey."

Laine swallowed hard at that line. Simi's world was also incredibly simple at times. If it annoyed you or made you angry, you kill it. But Simi could not kill Thanatos. Not only because Laine wasn't sure about Simi's powers (while she was powerful, she wasn't the most powerful thing out there), but also because she didn't want to see Simi fighting her father.

"That's what I'm talking about," Zarek said, folding his arms. "I like this Simi character."

"Simi likes Simi too!" the demon pronounced happily. "Now let's go!"


End file.
